Name: Yellow Rice with Pigeon Peas
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 1/4 hr
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 Cubanelle pepper (Italian frying pepper), seeded and chopped; 5 fresh ají dulce (small sweet chiles), halved and seeded; 1/2 cup chopped onion; 2 garlic cloves, chopped; 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro; 3 fresh recao leaves (culantro; see cooks' note, below), chopped; 1 plum tomato, chopped; 1 (1/4-pound) piece smoked ham, diced; 1/4 cup annatto oil; 1/3 cup chopped pimiento-stuffed olives; 1 tablespoon drained bottled capers; 2 cups long-grain white rice; 1 (15-ounce) can pigeon peas, rinsed and drained; 3 1/2 cups water

Barely a day goes by at the Puerto Rican table without rice and beans making an appearance, but this version is pull-out-the-stops-special rather than everyday—you won't believe how much flavor can be packed into such an understated dish. The secret is an abundantly seasoned sofrito—the flavor base—and the slight crust, called pegao, that forms on the bottom of the pot.

Cooks' notes:

Pork can be marinated up to 3 days.

Recipe notes

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