Denise says:

This is a very well-known Jamaican recipe. In Jamaica the word ‘peas’ is used to describe kidney beans. Whilst on Cat Island in the Bahamian Islands I had a comparable dish which uses ‘pigeon peas’ which is similar to dried garden peas. Both are tasty compliments to be enjoyed with either fish or meat.
The magic of this recipe is the coconut milk as it provides both the delicious flavour and also the creamy consistency. Coconut milk is not the juice found inside a coconut, but the diluted cream pressed out from the thick, white flesh of a well-matured coconut. Good coconut milk has a clean, white colour and tastes rich, creamy and mildly sweet with the essence of coconut. There are quite a few different brands on the market ~ so some experimentation is required to find the best!
Coconut milk should be refrigerated once the tin is opened and keeps for up to a week. I do not recommend freezing coconut milk as this increases the likelihood of curdling when it is next used in cooking – unless you are just warming it through without boiling.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4- 6 people

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion – peeled and finely chopped
1 large red pepper – deseeded and thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves – peeled and finely chopped
1 red or green chilli – deseeded and finely chopped
225g long grain rice
200 ml boiling water
400ml tin reduced fat coconut milk
400g tin red kidney beans or black eyed beans – rinsed and drained
Sprigs of thyme
2 tomatoes – chopped

Garnish: Sprigs of thyme, 4 cherry tomatoes - sliced

Method

1) Heat the oil in a large deep saucepan. Add the onion and cook, stirring for 3 minutes or until softened.
2) Add the pepper, garlic, chilli and cook for 1 minute.
3) Stir in the rice, then pour in the boiling water and coconut milk. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat. Stir in the beans, thyme, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
4) Add the tomatoes to the pan and continue to cook gently for a further 5 minutes or until the rice is tender.

To serve the stylish way: Garnish with sprigs of thyme and sliced tomatoes.
Tagged in: Dinner Party, Family Dining, Jamaican, Parev, Peas, Rice, Vegetarian