Moline, ILLINOIS – On Friday, September 9, 2016, Genesis Health System Chief Marketing Officer Ken Croken, made pigeon peas and rice during Good Morning Quad Cities. To see the ingredients for the recipe and the videos from Friday
INGREDIENTS:
1 can, 15 ounces, pigeon peas a/k/a gandules
1 ½ cups of common long grain rice
7 cups, unsalted chicken broth (vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
2 tablespoons sofrito (a combination of red bell pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro and olive oil)
1 tablespoon of fresh oregano leaves (1/2 teaspoon of dried)
1 bunch green onion, chopped (use both white and green portions)2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons, olive oil
3 tablespoons Achiote sauce (optional)
3 sweet chili peppers, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped roughly
1/2 teaspoon capers
6 large pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
1/4 cup of unsalted tomato sauce
Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Drain, but don’t rinse, the canned pigeon peas and reserve the liquid. Combine the canned liquid with the broth in a bowl and add the rice. Let the rice soak for 30 minutes.
In a heavy pot with tight-fitting lid or “caldero” warm the olive Achiote (a coloring) and sofrito. Increase heat to medium-high and sauté the green pepper, the sweet pepper, the green onion, garlic, oregano, cilantro, and tomato, about 10 minutes.
Then add the pigeon peas, olives, capers, tomato sauce and stir to combine.
Drain the rice and reserve the broth. Add the rice to pot and stir to combine. Now, add the broth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered for 20 minutes. If you prefer a less “soupy” version, cover the pot tightly and cook on low-medium until more liquid is absorbed.
