Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil
5 to 10 ounces of ham. I used 10 ounces of Black Forest ham in the video
1/2 cup of sofrito. Here is how to make it
1 packet of sazón with saffron. This is the product
1 1/2 cups of medium or long grain rice
3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
This recipe is really a simplified version of what we prepare in Puerto Rico, however it produces beautiful results. If you want to make something that more closely resembles what we make at the island then this is what I suggest.
Elevate this recipe by adding 1/4 cup of tomato sauce (truthfully I personally never use tomato sauce on this rice but most people do), 3 tablespoons of pimento stuffed olives, 1 tablespoon of capers, 2 bay leaves and plantain leaves to cover the rice. The plantain leaves are laid down right on top of the rice before placing the saucepan lid. Also some people may use actual pieces of pork meat and/or tocino (pork skin) instead of ham.
The olives, capers and bay leaves are added right at the time of adding the sofrito and the tomato sauce at the same time of adding the packet of sazón. The actual pieces of pork and/or tocino are added right at the beginning instead of the ham. The tocino is another ingredient I never use when making this recipe (I feel it doesn’t add much value in terms of flavor) but if you choose to use it then I recommend to decrease the amount of oil since tocino will add a good deal of fat to the preparation.
Rice with gandules is one of those recipes that have so many variations. Everybody seems to have their own little trick or special ingredients they add that make the rice better in their opinion. However, with experience I have learned that not all the time this is true, and sometimes when cooking “Less Is More”. Thinking about that fact and also aiming at sharing a recipe with ingredients that are easy to find anywhere, I have decided to share this simple yet rewarding recipe. Hope you enjoy!!!
