It’s the authentic taste of the Caribbean – light but filling; spicy, but with flavour. And really, really good for you. It’s momma’s special recipe, the only thing a true Caribbean native won’t leave behind: rice and peas.
Sounds boring? That’s because you’ve never had ‘em. A person who has never had rice and peas has no idea what he or she is missing out on. The rice is usually “dirty”, a word about as far away from how it tastes as it’s possible to get: the “dirty” rice in rice and peas (you’ll sometimes hear it referred to simply as “dirty rice” or “dirty rice and peas”) is named for its colour, not because it’s full of mud. The rice in rice and peas retains soft portions of cracked husk on its grains, which gives it a speckled or red appearance, as though it has been dusted with clay. These pieces of rice husk are crammed full of good stuff – you know how people are always going on about how you shouldn’t stir rice because it takes out all the goodness, or you should use the (really hard to cook) brown stuff because the shells are full of nutrients? The rice in rice and peas retains all of that nutrition but because its husk are split, it’s just as easy to cook as normal rice.
Rice and peas is generally flavoured with some of that good ol’ West Indian spice: thyme, garlic and the awesomely fiery Scotch bonnet pepper. If you’re making it at home and you’re not a spice head you might want to swap the Scotch bonnet for a different chilli – your rice and peas won’t be authentic without it but they won’t make you sweat through your eyeballs either. The rest of the rice and peas mix is pretty simple: coconut milk, usually, which makes the rice and peas dish come out clumpy enough to pick up with your fingers (the proper West Indian way to eat it: use your hand as a spoon and mop up some hot sauce on the side with lumps of the stuff); onion; butter; salt; water. And, of course, peas.
Well: not, actually. Rice and peas is named for the black eyed bean, often a staple ingredient therein, because the West Indian name for a black eyed bean is a “cowpea”. Your classic rice and peas will typically have kidney beans and “cowpeas” in it: the kidney beans are also referred to as “peas”. You’ll find different variations on it in different places – if you’re actually in the Caribbean, for example, it’ll typically be served with an insanely spicy vegetable pancake thing all wrapped up in bright yellow pastry, while a funky British restaurant will probably palm it off to you as a poor person’s risotto. For the real deal, find anywhere at least halfway authentic Caribbean and get yourself around some rice and peas proper – from the beaches of Barbados to the streets of New Orleans, it’s the original and it’s the best.
