Simple Healthy Jamaican RIce & Peas
Jamaican Rice & Peas are a flavorful, and satisfying, one-pot dish made with rice, kidney beans, coconut milk, scotch bonnet peppers, allspice, thyme, onions, garlic and ginger. This version uses brown rice for added nutrition and more commonly available ground allspice and thyme instead of the traditional allspice berries and fresh thyme, without compromising flavor.
Servings: 10
Calories: 287kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried kidney beans about 2 cans (see note)
- 2 cups long-grain brown rice see note for using white rice.
- 1 can unsweetened coconut milk 13.5-ounce (see note)
- 1 small onion
- 2 scallions
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice 5 berries
- ¾ teaspoon ground thyme 5 sprigs
- 1 tablespoon pepper sauce 1 Scotch bonnet/habanero pepper
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4½ cup water
Instructions
- Rinse 1 cup dried kidney beans. Soak them in a bowl, covered an inch of water, overnight.
- Finely chop 1 small onion, and 2 scallions. Mince 3 garlic cloves. Grate ½ teaspoon fresh ginger.
- Drain and rinse the beans.
- In a large saucepan or dutch oven, bring 4½ cup water to boil over medium high heat. Add beans. Stir in the onion, scallions, garlic, ginger, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ¾ teaspoon ground thyme, 1 tablespoon pepper sauce , 2 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoon olive oil, and 1 can unsweetened coconut milk. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer just until beans are tender about 45 minutes.
- Rinse 2 cups long-grain brown rice in a strainer and add to the pan.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. If the rice isn't tender, and it looks like it's getting dry, add ¼ cup of water, don't over stir as it will make the rice sticky. Continue to cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed
- Let steam for a few minutes, then fluff.
- Serve hot.
Notes
If you don't have coconut milk, you can make it by blending 1 cup shredded or flaked coconut and 1½ cup hot water, and straining it using, muslin, a thin towel or a milk nut bag.
You can substitute five whole allspice berries, and/or five sprigs of thyme for the ground spices, and a whole scotch bonnet or habanero pepper for the pepper sauce. Remove the whole spices before fluffing the rice.
If you want to use canned beans instead of dry beans, reduce the water by ½ cup, drain 2 cans, and add the rice together with the beans.
If you use white rice instead of brown rice, decrease the water to three cups.