Peas n’ rice

Ingredients

Peas

• 250 gdried pigeon peas, soaked overnight
• or 2 tins pigeon peas, drained

Pork

• 150 gsalt pork or bacon, in small dice

Base

• 2 tbspoil
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 1green pepper, chopped
• 3celery sticks, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 2tomatoes, chopped

Seasoning

• 3 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1bay leaf
• 1whole goat pepper or scotch bonnet, unbroken
• 1 tspground black pepper
• salt

Rice

• 400 glong-grain rice
• 700 mlwater or stock

To serve

• fried fish
• cracked conch
• or stewed chicken

Directions

1. Rinse them and pick over them for stones. Cover them with cold water and soak them overnight. Drain them and put them in a pot with fresh water. Simmer them for about forty-five minutes until almost tender. They should still hold their shape.
2. Drain them and keep the cooking liquid to use in the rice. Dice the salt pork very small. Put it in a cold heavy pot with the oil. Set the pot over a medium heat. Starting cold renders the fat out without burning the pieces. Cook it for eight minutes until the pieces are golden and crisp. Leave the rendered fat in the pot. Add the chopped onion, green pepper and celery.
3. Cook them for eight minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir the tomato paste into it. Cook it for three minutes until it darkens. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down for five minutes. Adding the seasoning is done next.
4. Add the thyme sprigs, oregano and bay leaf. Add the whole goat pepper without piercing it. Piercing it makes the dish very hot indeed. Season with black pepper and a little salt. Taste before adding much salt, since the pork is salty.
5. Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear. Drain it thoroughly in a sieve. Add it to the pot and stir it through the base. Cook it for two minutes so every grain is coated. This coating step keeps the grains separate.
6. Add the drained pigeon peas as well. Pour in the water or the reserved pea cooking liquid. Use about one and three quarter parts liquid to one part rice. Bring the whole pot to the boil. Cooking the rice must be undisturbed. Cover the pot tightly with a lid. Cook it for twenty minutes without lifting the lid. Do not stir it during cooking, which makes it gluey.
7. Take the pot off the heat entirely. Leave it covered for another ten minutes. Finishing it is done with a fork. Remove the whole pepper, the bay leaf and the thyme stems. Taste it and adjust the salt at the end. Serving it is done as a side dish. Serve it alongside fried fish, cracked conch or stewed chicken.

Technique

• Render the salt pork from cold, so the fat comes out without the pieces burning.
• Add the pepper whole and unpierced for aroma without full heat.
• Do not lift the lid or stir during the twenty minutes of cooking.

Substitutions

• Tinned pigeon peas, which most households use on a weekday.
• Bacon in place of salt pork.

Variations

• Made with red kidney beans instead of pigeon peas.
• With coconut milk in place of some of the water.
• Vegetarian, with the pork left out and more thyme.

History

Pigeon peas cooked with rice, salt pork and tomato, the everyday Bahamian side descended from African rice and bean cookery.

Frequently asked questions

What is Peas n’ rice?

Peas n’ rice is a salad & side from Bahamas: pigeon peas and rice with thyme and salt pork. Pigeon peas cooked with rice, salt pork and tomato, the everyday Bahamian side descended from African rice and bean cookery.

How long does Peas n’ rice take to make?

Peas n’ rice takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Peas n’ rice?

Yes, within limits. Tinned pigeon peas, which most households use on a weekday. Bacon in place of salt pork.

What is the most important thing to get right in Peas n’ rice?

Add the thyme sprigs, oregano and bay leaf. Add the whole goat pepper without piercing it. Piercing it makes the dish very hot indeed. Season with black pepper and a little salt. Taste before adding much salt, since the pork is salty.