Eliza Rae

Arroz con Gandules

First thing. Use a caldero. It matters. I am still scraping black, burnt mush from the bottom of my saucepan. Secondly, I am trying to add the correct measurements to ingredients which I typically eyeball. Keep tasting and please feel free to adjust.
Ingredients
2 c. long grain white rice
3-4 c. water
EVOO
1 md. spanish/sweet onion
2 cloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste
16 oz. can of gandules (green pigeon peas)
1/2 c. Soffrito
1 packet Sazon with Anchiote
1 jar green manzilla olives with pimentos

Let's get Cookin
Heat the caldero over med-high heat and coat the bottom of the pan with EVOO. Don't worry about being over generous. Saute onion and garlic until soft. Add gandules, sofrito, sazon, olives and S&P. Stir until everything is combined. Start with around 3 1/4 cups of water and add that to the pot. Bring to a boil. Add rice - there should be an inch or so of water above the rice. Add more/remove water as needed. Boil rice uncovered for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, stir 1-2 times around the sides/bottom of the pot. Too much stirring will make the rice sticky. Reduce to low, cover, and cook for another 20 minutes. If at any point you smell rice burning, halve an onion and place each half, cut side down, on the rice, recover and resume cooking. The onion will absorb that nasty smell. When the rice is finished, the slightly burnt, crispy rice stuck on the bottom is deeelicious. Enjoy :)