Jamaican Rice and Peas

Sue Lau's Note:

The peas in this aren't really peas at all, but red beans. It is customary in the Caribbean to refer to beans as "peas". This recipe uses coconut cream, but the flavor is mild and not overpowering--just enough to give a hint of island flavor. The scotch bonnet is not as fiery as you'd think as well, since it is added whole and not cut (to expose the seeds and membranes). If you want it hot, you can cut it open, but the dish has a mild flavor of chile overall. Great serving ideas for this recipe would include jerk chicken, calalou, conch chowder, beef patties, or curry. For dessert, I have served this with Caribbean Lime Mousse (recipe posted here).

• Total Time: 2 hrs 1 mins
• Prep Time: 1 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 8 ounces smalldried red beans or 8 ounces red kidney beans
• 1 quart water
• 16 ounces chicken broth or 16 ounces chicken stock or 16 ounces water
• ½ cup coconut cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 scallions , finely chopped
• ½ cup white onion , chopped
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper (left whole)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 ¼ cups uncooked long grain rice

Directions:

1. Rinse and sort beans and place in a stockpot.
2. Cover with several inches of water and soak overnight,-or- bring to a boil, boil gently for 3 minutes, then remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit undisturbed for 1 hour.
3. Drain and rinse beans.
4. Bring to a boil with chicken stock, water, and coconut cream.
5. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours or until beans are tender and creamy.
6. Add the thyme, allspice, scallion, onion, garlic, scotch bonnet, brown sugar, uncooked rice, salt and pepper.
7. Check the level of liquid over the rice and make sure there is at least one inch of liquid (if not, you may add water or broth to cover).
8. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.
9. Serve hot as a side dish, with Jamaican hot sauce as a condiment, if desired.
10. For Vegetarian use water not the chicken broth or stock.

Reviews

[LizDaCook]

Thanks for a great recipe! I used coconut milk instead of cream because I couldn't find any in the store. I didn't put in a pepper but added a pinch of cayenne pepper. The recipe had an authentic taste and tasted like many of the Jamaican restaurants I have visited. This is definitely a keeper!

[Nikoma]

Delicious! Really enjoyed this. I did use 2 cans of pink beans, then threw everything into 1 big pot and simmer until the rice was tender. I will make this recipe again. I've never been able to find a recipe for "rice and beans" that I was fond of, but this is great!

[Clarity148]

Having never eaten Jamaican food before this was definitely a nice place to start. It was very tasty. I used a jalapeno pepper since I couldn't find a scotch bonnet pepper. Worked out fine. Will make again.