Rice 'n' Peas vs Peas 'n' Rice!

~  Menu  ~

Rice ‘n’ Peas with Hot Sauce

A little Salad

a bittle of 

We spent an hour or two at the airport the other day which is much more pleasant than it sounds. A cool airy building with huge fans, chickens and cats about to talk to, a good chance of bumping into people we know and good local food to eat as we waited to see our friends off. 

Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport – to give it its full moniker.

After they left I bought a portion of rice ‘n’ peas for my lunch – really good with just salad and hot sauce.

Living here I learned to love Rice ‘n’ Peas, a seemingly simple dish of long grain rice cooked with coconut, seasoning and peas, pigeon peas are nicest.  Now, it’s a funny thing, on many islands they don’t have rice ‘n’ peas but they do a similar dish called Peas ‘n’ Rice although I don’t know if I‘d like it – fancy foreign muck! 

Here is a simple and possibly not quite authentic recipe that works for me when I’m not near the airport!

Rice ‘n’ Peas

½ tsp minced garlic

1 onion, finely chopped

1 small red chilli – deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil

400g Gungo or Pigeon Peas (or, to be frank, any dried pea or bean you fancy – Kidney Beans are often used) - drained

180 ml unsweetened coconut milk
a sprig or two of fresh thyme, if poss, or dried, if not

550g leftover rice, although it is OK to cook it specially
Salt and pepper to taste – my Caribbean Sea Salt is lovely in this

~   Cook the onion in the oil, stirring, till starting to turn golden then add the garlic and chilli and cook a few seconds more.

~   Add all the other ingredients except the cooked rice and salt & pepper.

~   Bring to a boil and simmer till the coconut milk has reduced by half.

~   Remove from the heat, stir in the rice, cover and set aside for a few minutes so that the rice can absorb the coconut milk.

~   Taste and season.

NOTE – Whilst being inauthentic I like to add half a veg Oxo to the mix

Tweetables ...

~   Rice ‘n’ Peas, a spicy Caribbean Recipe ~  rice  with coconut and pigeon peas. 
~   Rice 'n' Peas vs Peas 'n' Rice! Which do you prefer?

I do like, as I have said, to drink fabulous Spicy Hot V8 with lunch but I don’t have it with spicy food’- then I like something cool and refreshing, like this …

Cheers!