How To Cook Fresh Gandules Recipes

GANDULE RICE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add pork and brown in oil. Meanwhile, place remaining oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and add achiote seeds. Heat until oil becomes very dark orange/red. Remove from heat and set aside.
• To the browned pork add the onion, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook to reduce veggies, then add the tomato sauce, pigeon peas and olives. Mix well. Strain achiote/oil mixture into pork mixture and stir together. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add uncooked rice and water to pork mixture; stir well. Raise temperature to high, cover saucepan and bring all to a boil. Stir again, reduce heat to low and cover; let cook on low about 10 minutes. Remove cover, stir again, replace cover and cook another 10 minutes; stir again. Remove from heat and allow to stand 15 minutes.

GANDULES GUISADOS (STEWED PIGEON PEAS)

Steps:

• Prep Yellow Onion (1/2), Red Bell Pepper (1/2), and Green Bell Pepper (1/2) by chopping or slicing - you want about ¼ cup of each. For the size, it's really all about your preference.
• In a medium saucepan, add the Corn Oil (2 tablespoon) and heat over medium heat.
• Add Adobo Seasoning (1 tablespoon), Lime Juice (2 tablespoon), Distilled White Vinegar (1 teaspoon), Tomato Sauce (1 can), and Fresh Cilantro (1/4 cup). Stir well. Bring to a slight simmer.
• Once hot, add Garlic (1 tablespoon) and cook for 15 to 30 seconds. Immediately add onions, peppers, Green Olives (2 tablespoon), and stir.
• Add the Pigeon Peas (2 can) and one can full of water. Set heat to high and bring to a boil.
• Once at a boil, lower heat to low. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes.
• If you'd like to have the gandules a bit thicker, once done, crush some of the gandules right in the saucepan with a fork or a strainer making sure you put those crushed gandules right back in the saucepan. Raising the heat will also evaporate more of the liquid and help make it thicker.
• Serve warm with Long Grain White Rice (to taste) - this is the preferred rice for Latin cooking.

EASY ARROZ CON GANDULES

Steps:

• Place green peppers, onion, garlic and cilantro in a blender or food processor, puree. This mixture is called soffrito, it is your seasoning base. It can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 6 months.
• Place 3 tablespoons olive oil and 6 tablespoons soffrito in an 8 quart saucepan. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes to release oils.
• Pour one can of tomato sauce and the Spanish seasoning packet into the saucepan, mix well. Add 3 cups rice to the mixture and stir until the rice is coated.
• Stir pigeon peas into the mixture and add boiling water. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and a pot lid. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 45 minutes or until rice is tender.

GANDULES GUISADOS | EASY STEW PIGEON PEAS | MADE TO ORDER | CHEF ZEE COOKS

Steps:

• Add a tiny bit of water to half of the gandules and mash with your hands, food processor, hand mixer, or blender
• Heat pot on medium to high flame and add olive oil
• Add diced onions & peppers and saute
• Reduce flame to medium-low if needed
• Add minced garlic & chicken bouillon cube and then mix
• Add mashed and regular gandules. Saute for 2 minutes
• Add water, orégano, tomato paste, thyme, recao, and auyama. Mix together
• Simmer for 20 minutes until it thickens. Add more water if necessary
• Remove big pieces of peppers & thyme sprigs
• Taste test & add adobo, salt, or seasoning salt if needed
• Add brown sugar, vinegar, and mix
• Simmer for 3 more minutes
• Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

ARROZ CON GANDULES - RICE & PIGEON PEAS

Steps:

• Step 1 Heat oil in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ham to pan; cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in peppers and onions; cook, stirring occasionally, scraping up brown bits from bottom, until vegetables are soft and translucent, 10 minutes. Add sazón, garlic, cilantro and oregano. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Step 2 Add rice to pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until coated in oil and toasted, about1 minute. Stir in pigeon peas, tomato sauce, olives and 1½ cups water; using a wooden spoon, stir once and bring rice mixture to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until water is evaporated, about 10 minutes. Gently stir rice from bottom up. Step 3 Lower heat to medium low and cook, covered, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Gently fluff rice with fork. Cover pan and let stand 5 minutes.

[RECIPE + VIDEO] GUANDULES CON COCO (PIGEON PEAS WITH COCONUT)

Steps:

• Soak the guandules in water overnight, or at least a couple of hours.
• Discard the water in which the guandules soaked. Combine the guandules with ½ gallon [2 liters] of water. Boil over medium heat until the guandules are soft, and you can crush one if pinched (40 - 60 mins). Add water if it becomes necessary to prevent them from drying and burning.To reduce cooking time, you can boil in a pressure cooker. Combine with 4 cups of water and boil in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes, or until they become soft.Separate the guandules from the water in which it boiled. Set both aside.
• If you are watching your sodium intake, discard the water in which they came (it already contains sodium, and I have not accounted for it in the nutritional information). If you don't mind the extra sodium, you can use the liquid later when the recipe calls for water to be added after adding coconut milk.
• In a pot heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook and stir until it becomes translucent. Add oregano, garlic, ajíes gustosos, and thyme. Cook and stir for a minute.
• Add the pigeon peas. Cook stirring until they are heated through. Change heat to low. Follow the next step only If you are cooking with fresh guandules. Skip the next step if you are using boiled-from-dry or canned guandules.
• Cover and let it cook over low heat, stirring often until the guandules are soft when you pinch them (about 35 minutes). There should be no need to add water, but add a couple of tablespoons if it becomes necessary to prevent it from burning.
• Add the coconut milk and 3 cups of water (this can be the liquid you reserved from boiling, if you used dry guandules ). Once heated through, mash a bit to crush some of the guandules
• Add the auyama and boil over medium heat until it is cooked through and the peas reach a creamy consistency, adding more water as it becomes necessary to maintain the same level. Remove the onion pieces and thyme (if you used fresh sprigs).Season with salt to taste and simmer for another two minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and serve per suggestions above.

ARROZ CON GANDULES (PUERTO RICAN RICE WITH PIGEON PEAS)

Steps:

• Lay 1 banana leaf (or more, if needed) flat on a large cutting board, then set the lid of a large Dutch oven or similar pot on top. Use a paring knife to trace around the lid, and cut the leaf (or leaves) so that they will fit properly inside the pot. Cover with a clean dishcloth and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, cook the neutral oil and annatto seeds over medium heat, allowing the seeds to infuse the oil. After 2 to 3 minutes, when the oil begins to bubble and the seeds start to crackle, turn off the heat and allow the oil to cool completely. Pour the cool oil through a fine-mesh strainer, reserving seeds for another round of infusing, if desired.
• Make the sofrito: Use a food processor or high-speed blender to pulse the onion, red and green bell peppers, cubanelle pepper, garlic, cilantro, scallions, ají dulce peppers (if using) and culantro (if using), adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if needed to achieve a smooth, salsa-like consistency. Stir in 3/4 teaspoon sazón and set aside. (The sofrito makes about 2 cups. Refrigerate it for up to 5 days or portion it into ice cube trays or plastic containers, and freeze up to 6 months.)
• Set the large Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons annatto oil and the ham or fatback. Sauté until crisp and most of the fat has rendered, about 6 minutes. Add 1/4 cup sofrito, the olives and 1 tablespoon sazón, stirring until sofrito is fragrant, about 3 minutes.
• Next, add pigeon peas and sauté for another 3 minutes. Season with adobo, salt and black pepper to taste.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add rice, stirring until grains are all coated, seasoned and starting to toast. If there isn't enough oil to generously coat all of the rice and peas in the pot, add the remaining tablespoon of annatto oil. This will help form a delicious golden bottom crust called pegao.
• Once the rice is toasted, stir in the beer and cook for about 3 minutes, then add the reserved pigeon-pea liquid (or 2 1/2 cups water) and roasted red pepper brine. Taste the cooking liquid and adjust salt as needed; it should be pleasantly salty.
• Gently stir rice, then spread about half the thinly sliced roasted red pepper over the rice. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover rice with prepared banana leaves, then cover pot with its lid and cook for 22 minutes.
• Once the time has passed, remove the lid, open the banana leaves and gently fold the rice onto itself from the outside in to form a mound in the center of the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, replace banana leaves and lid and continue cooking for 20 to 25 minutes to allow pegao to form at the bottom of the pot.
• To serve, spoon rice atop a platter layered with fresh banana leaves. Garnish with remaining sliced roasted peppers. Use a metal spatula to scrape pegao out of the pot and serve on a separate plate. Be careful, because everyone will fight over it!

ARROZ CON GANDULES RECIPE (PUERTO RICAN RICE WITH PIGEON PEAS)

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy pot, such as a Dutch oven or caldera. Add the pork and brown the pieces, about 5 minutes.
• Add the onion, peppers and sofrito. Stir and cook another 5 minutes to soften.
• Add the pigeon peas, olives, capers, rice, tomato paste and chicken broth (or reserved soaking liquid). Season with salt and pepper and stir.
• Bring to a boil for 5 minutes until most of the water is absorbed, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice done to your liking. Remove from heat.
• Rest for 5 minutes, then serve.

ARROZ CON GANDULES (PUERTO RICAN RICE AND PIGEON PEAS)

Steps:

• 1. Heat a large heavy bottomed pot, or a caldero if you have one, over medium heat. If using ham or bacon, slowly cook the meat until crispy, remove meat from pot and set aside leaving the drippings. If not using meat, add olive oil before continuing with the next step. 2. Then, add the gandules, tomato sauce, green olives, sofrito, salt, adobo seasoning, sazon, ground black pepper and ground cumin. Stir to fully combine. 3. Once the mixture becomes fragrant, pour in the water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and then add the rice. Stir until rice is submerged and pigeon peas are distributed evenly. 4. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for about 25 minutes. You can add your ham or bacon back in now if you want, or wait to add it in again before serving. Traditionally the rice would be covered with a banana or plantain leaf. However, a tight fitting pot lid will work just fine! 5. About half way through cooking, remove the lid and stir, making sure to scrape up any rice stuck at the bottom of the pan. This is a very touchy subject - some Puerto Ricans insist that you don't stir the rice while cooking. That the crispy bottom bites are the best part! While others would prefer more evenly cooked rice. Whatever you do, if you do stir the rice, make sure you only do it once or the rice can become sticky. 6. After simmering for 25 minutes, remove the arroz con gandules from the heat and let it sit for an additional 30 minutes before serving. This is called letting the rice "steam". The rice is done once all the liquid is absorbed. 7. After letting the rice rest for about a half hour, remove the lid. Fluff and stir the rice, then serve warm with fresh cilantro, if desired.