Arroz con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice)

• servings: 9 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

3 cups medium or long grain white rice, rinsed

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 heaping tablespoons sofrito

4 ounces tomato sauce

1 can (15 ounces) gandules (pigeon peas), partially drained

2 heaping tablespoons alcaparrado

1 packet Sazón with Achiote (I use Goya brand)

1/2 packet ham flavoring (I use Goya brand Jamón)

1 teaspoon adobo

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground oregano

Salt and pepper to taste (start off with 2 teaspoons of salt)

4-6 cups hot water

Directions

Rinse rice well in water and set aside.

In a medium caldero or large pot (about 6 quarts or so), heat oil and sauté sofrito until softened. Add tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.

Stir in gandules, alcaparrado, all of the spices and 4 cups of water. Taste and readjust seasonings, adding additional salt 1 teaspoon at a time. Broth should be heavily seasoned and on the salty side.

Bring to a rapid boil, then add rice and stir. You may need to add more water to ensure rice is covered by 1 inch of water. Reduce heat to a soft boil and let most of the liquid absorb and evaporate, stirring occasionally, very gently, so rice does not turn gummy.

Carefully mound rice towards center of pot, top with foil and cover with lid. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Stir by folding rice from the bottom up, but do not disturb bottom of pan. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, testing after 20 to see if rice is tender and cooked through.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup
• Calories: 146
• Total Fat: 5 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Cholesterol: 5 mg
• Sodium: 426 g
• Total Carbohydrate: 20 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 1 g
• Protein: 5 g