Hi all,

We will be entertaining some friends this weekend that will be going to the island with us this fall. I am looking for an authentic island recipe for peas & rice as well as a nice rum punch to go along with it.

Figured here was better than any cookbook!!


Thanks in advance

Rob,
I'll ask Deb, one of the guys that works for her is from the Caribbean, and his sister has a Caribbean Restaurant here in NJ...
Her rice & Peas are superb! (we've had take-out from there)...
Deb may already have the recipe written down someplace as she's made it for us here at home...

I know it uses a couple of Goya ingredients, and I just looked at the website...
They have a lot of good Caribbean Recipes here:
http://www.goya.com/english/recipes/recipe_category.html?id=6#1

OK... Deb just got home...
The recipe came from a co-worker from St. Lucia, not the guy I was thinking of who is from Tobago...
The RECAITO & SOFRITO come in jars and are almost a paste...
you can see descriptions on the Goya website...
we can find them in every supermarket around here in the Goya/Spanish sections...

1 cup raw white long grain rice (cooked according to directions, but use chicken broth instead if water)
WITH THE FOLLOWING ADDED IN THE RICE POT WHILE COOKING!
2 Tbsp Butter or Margerine
1 Tbsp. Goya RECAITO (cilantro cooking base)
1 Tbsp. Goya SOFRITO (tomato cooking base)
1 15 oz. can Goya Pigeon Peas (drained)
S&P to taste

we also added chopped onion to ours, but that's not in the original recipe...

This will make plenty+ for four people...

My friend is married to a Jamaican and they have a take-out/catering business, so this recipe IS authentic!

I cut the recipe she gave me in half, but have not cooked this actual recipe myself yet. I have eaten it and it is really good!

LENAE’S RICE AND PEAS

5 ½ cups water
3 ½ cups rice
1 can red kidney beans, not drained
½ can coconut milk
2 tsp. salt
1 heaping Tbsp. ground allspice
1 ½ heaping Tbsp. sugar
1/2 handful of fresh thyme, whole, not chopped - remove before serving
1 whole scallion, chopped
1 Scotch bonnet pepper (optional) (leave whole and remove before serving)

Put all ingredients except rice in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add rice, stir real well, reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook for approximately 25 minutes.

Oops! Lenae just told me she puts margarine in the rice 'n peas ~ about 1/4 cup for the recipe above.