Arroz Con Gandules (Puerto Rico)

      A very comedic joke between my grandmother and myself, is that of all of her grandchildren I portray my Puerto Rican heritage the most.  It is just a shame that I don't look the part.  This joke is primarily because of my love for cooking, when all of the other boys wanted to play outside I wanted to stay in the kitchen and watch as my grandmother, mother, and aunts cooked up an island feast for everyone to enjoy.
      This was a common occurrence with my mother and her sisters, as it was just a simple way to have everyone together, where they could get some calm in their life. While we kids chased eachother around like a bunch of maniacs. 
      The two main ingredients in any Arroz Con Gandules recipe is of course Arroz (which if you took any sort of Spanish class you should know means rice) and Gandules beans (in America they are called pigeon peas which is strange because they are not related to peas at all).  You flavor the rice with sofrito (a tomato cooking base common in many Caribbean kitchens and available at most supermarkets) Achiote oil (Annoto seeds in English which can either be added to olive oil with garlic or bought in a powder form that is commonly known as Sazon).  The beans are then added to the rice with chopped onion and chorizo sausage, covered in water and then left to cook.  The secret to preventing your rice from becoming to crunchy is to not open the lid until the rice has had time to cook.  In other words "No Peaking".

(My abuelitta was one of the women who taught me how to cook, and was my primary education in cooking Puerto Rican cuisine.)

Arroz Con Gandules

4 cups long grain rice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sofrito (recipe available in the blog of the same name)

1/2 cup Achiote oil

1 cup onion, chopped finely

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup tomato paste

1 1/2 cup chopped chorizo

1 can (15 ounces) gandules beans

5 cups water

Begin by washing the 4 cups of rice to remove any dirt or grit that may be on the grains.  In a large Caldero (puerto rican cast iron pot, if you do not posses on a dutch oven will work just fine), combine the olive oil, sofrito, achiote oil, onion, garlic, and tomato paste.  Allow the ingredients to come to a lite simmer then add in the chorizo, gandules, and washed rice. 

Stir the ingredients together then pour in the water to cover.  Cover the Caldero (or dutch oven) with its lid and allow the rice to cook over medium heat for about 45 minutes (time varies depending on the thickness of the caldero and the amount of heat if rice is still cooking cover quickly and allow to finish). 

When the water has evaporated, and the rice has become soft give the rice one final mix and serve.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in a separate container. 

Serves 8-10 (depending on portion size.) 

(When my family members come together, we always have rice and beans, whether we are making breakfast, lunch or dinner.  You might try reheating the leftovers and pairing it with some fried eggs.)