Arroz con Gandules is one of my family's favorite side dishes. No family gathering or barbecue is complete without it! I'm usually the one who is tasked with making it and I love to because it is super easy and I get to enjoy the pegao at the end (the crispy rice crust that forms on the bottom of the pot)! This beloved Puerto Rican dish is one that I borrowed from my not-so-Puerto-Rican mother years ago. Our family is a melting pot of different ethnicities so we've managed to picked up recipes from cultures that touch every side of the globe. And boy, do our bellies thank us for it! Follow along for a delicious arroz con gandules recipe that your family is sure to love too!
What you'll need:
3 cups medium or long grain white rice (rinsed)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 slices of bacon (optional)
1 finely chopped green bell pepper
1 finely chopped red pepper
1 finely chopped onion
2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
1- 4oz. can of tomato sauce
1- 15oz. can of gandules (pigeon peas)
2 large bay leaf (dried)
2 packets of GOYA Sazon
2 tablespoons of GOYA Sofrito (or homemade sofrito)
2 teaspoons salt (keep the salt handy to season to taste as you cook)
1/3 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon adobo
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon oregano
4-5 drops GOYA hot sauce
1/4 cup sliced Manzanilla stuffed olives (optional)
6 cups hot water
Let's get started:
Heat your olive oil in a large pot and saute your bacon for about 1 minute before adding in your finely chopped green pepper, red pepper, and onion. Cook down on sim until vegetables are soft and slightly brown. Gently mix in your seasonings (sazon, salt, pepper, adobo, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano). Add in your water. Then, stir in your tomato sauce, garlic, olives and gandules. Add your 4-5 drops of GOYA hot sauce and 2 large bay leafs.
After bringing the water and ingredients to a boil, add in your rice and stir to make sure that all ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the pot. Let boil for 1.5 minutes and then reduce heat to sim after covering the pot. Let the rice cook for about 20 minutes, then gently stir. Check the texture of the rice and let cook for another 10-15 mins. Rice should be tender*.
*If you find that your rice is a still a little hard and there is no more water in the pot add 1/4 cup more water to the rice and cover for another 7-10 minutes.
*If your rice seems too mushy, heat your oven to 300, put rice into a large baking pan and place rice in oven for 20-25 minutes uncovered to dry it out.
Buen provecho! (Enjoy your meal!)
Come back to tell us how it turned out!