Arroz con gandules

As tradition built it

Arroz con gandules

Serves 6 to 8 . 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 450g (1 lb), diced ham
• ½ onion, chopped onion
• 1 to 1½ tsp sazón
• 1 tsp, ground or as powder achiote
• a pinch, to taste adobo
• ½ tsp oregano
• ¼ cup, chopped cilantro or recao
• a little cayenne
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 x 400g tins (or about 900g/2 lb fresh or frozen), drained gandules (pigeon peas)
• ¼ cup, pitted and halved olives
• 2 cups rice
• about 2½ cups (water, plus the gandules’ liquid) liquid, to cover

Method

1. Sauté the ham and onion 5 to 8 minutes until the ham browns and the onion softens.
2. Stir in sazón, achiote, adobo, oregano, cilantro or recao and a little cayenne, and cook a further 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant.
3. Add the tomato paste, gandules and olives.
4. Stir the rice through, reduce the liquid to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 to 25 minutes until tender and fully absorbed.

Notes

The achiote's colour is the dish's own signature, a yellow-orange distinct from a plain white rice with beans stirred through.

What a modern chef changes

Fresh-ground achiote, a deliberate pegao

Rung 05

Method

1. Toast the achiote seeds briefly and grind them fresh in the spice grinder rather than relying on a pre-ground sazón, for a cleaner, less muddy colour and a more distinct pepper note.
2. Cook the ham separately sous vide before it is browned, so the final sauté step is purely about colour and aroma rather than trying to cook the meat through in the same few minutes.
3. Finish the pot, once the liquid is absorbed, under the closed lid of a hot Big Green Egg for a few minutes rather than off the heat, deliberately building the pegao crust at the bottom rather than leaving it to chance.