My parents have a house in Vieques, Puerto Rico and I spent a week there in April eating lots of delicious food and rediscovered my love of rice and beans. I learned how to make this classic Puerto Rican rice, pigeon pea, and pork dish by watching local chef Iris (Titi Tatas Kitchen) make it using only her instincts (no measurements!). The flavor base comes from an aromatic blend frequently used in Puerto Rican soups and stews. I did my best to recreate it for you all and I think Iris would be proud. It’s hard to find pigeon peas here, so I opted for black beans. Be sure to read the recipe notes!
Ingredient Highlight
White rice! White rice is obtained by removing the bran, husk, and germ from the whole grain rice kernel. Though it does contain less fiber and other nutrients compared to brown rice, the difference is very minimal. Jasmine white rice is my favorite rice to eat because it’s the most delicious and comforting, cooks quickly, and is good source of carbohydrates!
Servings 6 People
Prep Time 10 minutes 
Cook Time 40 minutes Ingredients
- 1 bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, quartered, roughly chopped
- ½ yellow onion, roughly chopped
- ½ large bunch or 1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4-8 oz pork sausage (linguica or chorizo), casing removed or use cubed country ham*
- ½ cup (4 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 15 oz can pigeon peas (gandules) or black beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups water
- 1 ½ cups jasmine white rice
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- Fresh cilantro chopped
- Topping ideas: grated cheddar, fried egg, pickled red onions, chopped green olives, cilantro.
- *4 oz gives that essential pork flavor but not much meat, so if you want more chunks of meat go for 8 oz. If using cooked sausage, just chop it roughly into pieces before adding. This is delicious as a side with grilled sausage or pork chops!
- Note: if you have leftover sofrito, use it to make this again or as a base for soups! If you won’t use it within 3 days, freeze in an ice cube tray and then transfer to a container or resealable bag and stash in the freezer.
- Note: Note: see substitutions section for instructions to make vegetarian.
Instructions
To make the sofrito:
- in a food processor or high-speed blender, add the bell pepper and onion and blend until finely chopped. Use your tamper tool to encourage blending. Add the cilantro and garlic and blend again until everything is combined and finely chopped, scraping down the sides as needed. You should end up with about 1 – 1 ¼ cups worth (it will be a bit watery).
- In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil and meat and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up into small chunks (if using sausage), or until the meat is browned. Add the sofrito mixture and ½ teaspoon salt and cook for 3-5 more minutes or until the water has evaporated and the sofrito has darkened a bit, stirring occasionally. Things should be smelling really good!
- Add the tomato sauce, peas or beans, water, rice, and remaining 1 ½ teaspoons salt and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high to bring to a boil, give it a stir to make sure no rice is stuck to the bottom, then cover and reduce the heat to low or medium-low to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 25 minutes (covered), or until the rice is cooked through and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff it up/mix it gently with a fork. Taste and add more salt, if needed (beans and rice need a lot of salt!).
- Top with fresh cilantro and enjoy it as is, but I like it best topped with cheese + pickle red onions (see topping ideas).
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Make sofrito (bell pepper, onion, cilantro, garlic)
- Pickle 1 red onion (optional)
Substitutions:
- To make vegetarian/vegan, you can substitute the pork with 8-12 oz of chopped mushrooms (~3 heaping cups). Increase the oil to 2 tablespoons and brown the mushrooms like you would the meat (browning them is important to get that meaty, umami flavor). Once the mushrooms are browned and the sofrito is cooked, stir in 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika to give you a similar smoky flavor that you get from pork. You can also add an extra can of beans and may also want to increase the salt by ½-1 teaspoon. Yum!!
- As mentioned in the notes, you can increase the pork to 8 oz or even 1 lb if you want it more meaty. Or you could serve the rice with a side of cooked sausage or pork chops.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- Warm up leftovers in the microwave until warmed through. Sprinkle everything with some salt and top with your desired toppings.
- Iris told me that leftovers are delicious topped with a fried egg (though I just like to eat it this way anyways!).
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