Arroz con Gandules
Recipe ingredients
14-16 oz. bag of frozen gandules
1/3 cup canola oil
¼ lb. salted pork
¼ lb. cooking ham with bone
4 cloves garlic
2 heaping tbsp. Sofrito
1 envelope Sazon seasoning
½ tsp. oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
1-1/2 tbsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground pepper
¼ cup tomato sauce
3 cups rice
3 cups water
2-3 bay leaves
¼ cup sliced Spanish olives
2 banana leaves
1/3 cup canola oil
¼ lb. salted pork
¼ lb. cooking ham with bone
4 cloves garlic
2 heaping tbsp. Sofrito
1 envelope Sazon seasoning
½ tsp. oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
1-1/2 tbsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground pepper
¼ cup tomato sauce
3 cups rice
3 cups water
2-3 bay leaves
¼ cup sliced Spanish olives
2 banana leaves
Directions
- In a medium pot, put gandules in one cup of water and bring to a boil over medium heat, about 7-8 minutes, uncovered. Meanwhile, you will be making the base for this dish:
- In a dutch oven pot, add the canola oil over a medium flame.
- Dice the salted pork into about 1-inch cubes, add to the pot and then lower the flame.
- Cut ham into about 1-inch cubes and add to the pot, and give a short stir.
- Let this cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, mash 2 of the 4 cloves of garlic in a pilon, then add the rest, mashing one at a time and then add to the pot. Give it a short stir.
- By this time, the gandules will be boiling. You can now turn off the flame. Then, to your dutch oven pot, add the Sofrito and stir.
- Add the Sazon, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and tomato sauce. Then give it a nice big stir.
- Add the rice and the water to the pot. Turn up to medium flame. Add the gandules, bay leaves and the sliced olives. Stir and taste.
- Cover the pot and cook for about 15 minutes. Then check to see how the rice looks.
- Stir a bit and then lower the flame. You can now make a “mountain” with the rice, if you wish.
- Cover rice with the 2 banana leaves and then cover the pot and cook for about 20 minutes.
- Uncover and fluff the rice. You’re done!
Enjoy!
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Hi Mr Lopez.
I love the recipe. I am on my second time on it and it came out much better then the first attempt. I am Italian, but I work in a predominantly Hispanic community as a policeman on the Lower East Side. I have engaged in many of the community events experiencing the delicious creations that were made. It has both Dominican and PuertoRican cultures. Italian food is what I know and love, and a have been told by members of this community that I am a pretty good cook. Spanish food is running a close second. Arroz con gandules is one of many favorites. It was always a mystery on how to make it. Well thanks to you, I now tried and tested it. Not bad!! The only ingredients I have trouble finding is salted pork. I did find fat back and it was told it was the same.
Just wanted to thank you, and let you know I much I enjoy your videos. Next stop….Pernil. I love it. I’ll follow your lead and let you know how it turned out. But you do have some Dominican competition out here saying their version is the best.
Will see.
Take good care. Until the next dish.
Tony
I’m thinking of making this for Christmas dinner with pernil on the side , so I wouldn’t add any salted pork Or cooking ham to it , maybe just a ham bouillon cube to the sofrito , plus a grated plantain to give it that extra great flavor !
Hello, Derick! I just made this last night and it turned out absolutely delicious!! I had to use Goya’s Recaito and canned gandules (I can’t find culantro and frozen gandules in Houston and I will be ordering your sofrito gift package soon). I added the sliced olives after the rice was cooked, which my grandmother told me is her “secret.” Today I will be marinating the pernil, preparing the mojo sauce, and cooking the home fries. Next weekend I will prepare the sorullitos de mais con queso, a personal childhood favorite. I plan to also cook the mofongo After my parents’ divorce when I was five, I grew up in NYC with the Puerto Rican side of our family, and I have many happy memories that include so many delicious foods. My grandmother was a wonderful cook but she was not generous with her knowledge, although she did teach me how to cook perfect rice every time. Several years after she died, I learned she had referred to La Cocina Criolla for some of her recipes (and that the author is a distant cousin of my grandfather’s) while serendipitously also finding that book at a garage sale in English: Puerto Rican Cookery. It is a fabulous treasure trove of Puerto Rican recipes, but I find your recipes and videos much less complicated and I believe they will deliver the same delicious results, plus your conversations in the videos are engaging and you offer really helpful tips.
I must tell you, Derick, these recipes have become a real lifeline to me as I continue to struggle with the pandemic realities. Thank you very much for making them and for being so generous with your knowledge. Puerto Rican cuisine reminds me of much love and happiness, something that is not easy to come by these days. It has become my anchor to life again and for that I am very grateful to you!!
Tried your recipe on Arroź con Gandules for dinner yesterday. Recipe is simple and easy to follow. My husband, a Puerto Rican who grew up in the
Harlem said the food came out a perfect 10 score! The flavor and texture of the rice was close to the way his mother and grandmother cooked. Thank you very much for your generosity in sharing your recipe. Wish I can post a pic of a plate of the arroź con gandules I prepared last night.