Puerto Rican Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients

The Rice

·         3 cups medium or long grain white rice, rinsed

·         3 tablespoons vegetable oil

·         2 heaping tablespoons sofrito – see sub-recipe

·         4 ounces tomato sauce

·         1 ½ cups diced ham

·         1 (15-oz.) can gandules (pigeon peas), partially drained

·         1 packet Sazón with achiote (Goya brand)

·         2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder

·         Salt and pepper to taste (begin with 2 teaspoons of salt)

·         5 cups hot water

The Sofrito

·         ½ bunch cilantro

·         ½ medium yellow onion

·         ½ medium green bell pepper

·         2 gloves garlic

·         ½ cup canola oil (or enough oil to make consistency loose, but not too watery)

Instructions

Prepare the Sofrito

1.       Rough chop all ingredients.

2.       Place all the ingredients into a food processor or a blender.

3.       Pulse or blend the mixture until it is finely chopped and reaches a thick, chunky paste consistency (avoid pureeing it completely).

Prepare the Rice

1.       Rinse rice until water runs clear to remove excess starch, set aside.

2.       In a medium caldero or large pot (about 6 quarts), heat oil and sauté sofrito until softened

3.       Add tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.

4.       Stir in diced ham, gandules, all of the spices and water. Taste and readjust seasonings, adding additional salt 1 teaspoon at a time. Broth should be heavily seasoned and on the salty side.

5.       Bring to a rapid boil, then add rice and stir. You may need to add more water to ensure rice is covered by 1 inch of water. Reduce heat to a soft boil and let most of the liquid absorb and evaporate, stirring occasionally and very gently, so rice does not turn gummy.

6.       Carefully mound rice towards center of pot, top with foil and cover with lid. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

7.       Stir by folding rice from the bottom up, but do not disturb bottom of pan. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, testing after 20 minutes to see if rice is tender and cooked through.

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