From the Kitchen: Rice and Peas

Curious as to what we make in our kitchen? We’ll you’re in luck! Check out this rice and peas recipe from our From the Kitchen series - these are tasty recipes that we try at home. After all, the only thing better than making food, is eating it! Don’t miss a recipe. Sign up here to get our recipe alerts!

Rice and peas is such a quintessential Caribbean dish. Next to pelau, it’s what often comes to mind when you think of Caribbean-style rice. During the summer when we’re usually out and about, rice and peas is a go-to favorite of ours to get at local restaurants or when we’re at festivals. Since our summer will look a little different this year, we decided to make this recipe at home. Of course we’ll continue to get it from our favorite spot, but it doesn’t hurt to know how to make the dish in a pinch. Now the question for you all is, do you say rice and peas or rice and beans? We’re team rice and peas 🙃

See below for the video and recipe.

Recipe (Serves 6-7 people )

Ingredients

• 1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 cups of rice

• 2 tablespoons of olive or avocado oil

• 2 blades of spring onion, chopped

• 2 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons of Island Herb Blend

• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

• 1/4 cup of onions, chopped

• 1/4 cup of coconut milk (canned or fresh)

• 1/2 teaspoon of clove powder

• 1/2 teaspoon of dry thyme

• 4 cups of water

Steps

1. Heat oil in a pot on medium heat.

2. Once oil is hot, stir in spring onion, cilantro, garlic, and onion, and cook for a minute or two.

3. Add in kidney beans to the herbs and stir.

4. Add island herb blend to the mix, and stir.

5. Pour coconut milk and 3.5 cups of water into the pot.

6. Add cinnamon, clove powder, thyme, nutmeg and salt to the mixture and stir.

7. Cover pot and let the contents boil.

8. After 5 minutes, add rice to the mixture and stir.

9. Cover pot and leave rice to boil for 20 minutes.

10. (Optional) During this time as the rice is boiling, you may need to add in additional water. We added in half a 1/2 cup of water to the pot during this time.

11. After rice has finished boiling, stir rice around to ensure it is well mixed.

12. Remove from heat and enjoy!

Take it up a notch

Want to know how to eat rice and peas? See below for some options on how to enjoy them:

• Serve alongside beans, veggies, or meat

• Eat by itself (the coconut adds such a nice flavor)

• Top off with pepper sauce

Camella’s Kitchen is run by two ladies from Trinidad and Tobago. Based out of Prince George’s County, Maryland, we’re living our sauciest lives by bringing our bold Caribbean flavors to you! How will you #BeCamellaSaucy? Tell us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube!