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Rice and peas is ‘the’ Jamaican Sunday dish. While rice and peas are prepared by some during the week, it is usually a must-prepared dish on Sundays. So like Soups are for Saturdays, Rice and Peas are dedicated to Sundays. This dish can be eaten with chicken, fish, beef, or any other meat kind of one’s choosing. On this particular Sunday, I just did mine with Chicken and a nice little serving of vegetables.  Psst.  I did not eat that much rice. Or did I? Here is one of my ways of preparing my Sunday Rice and Peas. Try it nuh!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. white rice.
• ¼ lbs. Red Kidney Beans.
• 1 tsp of cooking oil (optional)
• 1 medium-size coconut/coconut milk (powdered/canned).
• Seasonings:
  • Scallion (Green onions). A stalk, chopped finely.
  • Thyme (a sprig).
  • Pimento seeds (3 to 4).
  • Scotch Bonnet Pepper (green).
• Salt to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Soak beans for a few hours or overnight (this greatly helps with cooking time).
• Rinse beans and add fresh water for cooking. (You can add a little piece of garlic while the beans cook).
• Add salt to taste.
• Let the beans cook until tender.
• Add coconut milk and seasonings.
• Let cook until the beans become soft.
• Add white rice (after rinsing).
• Continue cooking until the rice is steamed. (Ensure flam is lowered at this point).
• Serve and enjoy.

Notes

If you do not get the chance to soak the beans, you can use a pressure cooker to cook them.  You can also add onions as part of the seasonings as well as butter and sugar. I do not use butter or sugar, but I may add a little olive oil to help with the cooking of the rice.

You will find a few variations to this dish, but this is one of the ways I usually prepare it, give and take adding other seasonings from time to time.

Also, for this meal, the only thing I added afterwards was a drizzle of an Italian dressing, sat down and enjoyed my ‘Sunday Dinner.’ It was Good!

Ingredient Spotlight!

~ Red Kidney Beans~

Red Kidney Beans, which are named due to their resemblance to a human kidney, are a variety of the common bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris).  The bean is said to have a very colourful nutritional profile which includes protein and a small amount of fat along with folate, iron, phosphorus, and small amounts of other minerals – magnesium, copper, and zinc.

Other nutrients of this little red bean include its vitamin C, E, and K content as well as Thiamin (B1).

Caution: Kidney beans must NEVER be eaten raw or undercooked as they can be toxic causing severe nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and even death.  As such, always consumed them well-cooked (soft).  Better yet, soak the beans to help with the cooking time as well as to help release some of the lectin content.  Lectins are sugar-binding proteins found in some foods, such as beans which can inhibit the absorption of nutrients, etc.

To good health!

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