Puerto Rican Rice and Pigeon Peas (Arroz con Gandules)

My introduction to Arroz con Gandules was at a dinner party hosted by a Puerto Rican woman who had prepared her mother's recipe. I had never even heard of pigeon peas ("gandules") before, but they're similar to a bean or lentil. Arroz con Gandules relies on the use of "sofrito," which was also a new idea to me. Sofrito is an herb mix that is thrown into most Puerto Rican dishes. You make a ton of it, freeze it, and use as needed. Arroz con Gandules is not only tasty hot off the stove, but it only gets better as it sits. I throw in extra veggies that I want to use up - anything can get added here. You would have to really work to make this taste bad... Enjoy!

- olive oil
- 2 strips bacon (or 4 strips of turkey bacon)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 c sofrito (recipe below)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste or 1 can tomato sauce
- 2 c rice
- 1 can pigeon peas, drained
- 1/2 of a 7 oz. jar of pimento-stuffed olives
- 2 c chicken stock

1. Coat a large saucepan with olive oil and bring to medium heat. Cook the bacon and onion until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the sofrito, tomato paste/sauce, and rice. Combine well and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Add the pigeon peas, olives, and chicken stock. If you have extra veggies you want to throw in, do so now. Cover and lower the heat. Let simmer until the rice is tender,  30 - 45 minutes.

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To make sofrito (makes a lot!):
Do not worry about chopping very fine - it will all get blended anyways. Throw the following in a food processor and blend until well combined and a paste consistency. Freeze until use.
- 2 green bell peppers, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 10 ajies dulces peppers
- 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 4 onions, chopped
- 3 heads garlic, peeled
- roughly 50 cilantro leaves and stems
- salt
- pepper