Sunday dinner June 27,2021

On the Menu

Puerto Rico’s Rice with Pigeon Peas 🥗
Lemon Garlic Spinach 🥗
Apricot Glazed Chicken Breast 🥗

Puerto Rico’s Rice with Pigeon Peas

Arroz Con Gandules

8 – 10 Servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the Sofrito

· 2 tomatoes, diced

· 1 medium onion, diced

· 1 large red pepper, diced

· 1 large jalapeno peppers, diced

· 4 large cloves garlic, minced

· ¼ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

· ¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 ½ teaspoons salt free Sazon seasoning

1 cup tomato sauce

2 ½ cups water

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons stuffed olives

1+ tablespoons salt free adobo seasoning or to taste

1- 15 ounce can pigeon peas, rinsed and drained

2 cups parboiled rice

Method

Heat a Dutch oven on medium heat, add the olive oil and sofrito ingredients, and sauté for 5 minutes.

Next add the sazon, tomato sauce and continue to sauté another minute or two.

Add the water, salt, Italian seasoning, cilantro, bay leaves and olives.

Allow the liquid to come up to a boil taste it for salt and add more salt if needed. Add in 1 tablespoon of the adobo season taste and add more if needed until it’s well seasoned. You want the liquid to be highly seasoned, as it will determine the final taste of the rice.

Add in the pigeon peas then bring the mixture back up to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, add the rice.

Stir the rice to get and gently mix until the pigeon peas are distributed throughout the rice.

Cook rice uncovered until all surface liquid is absorbed. Once most of the visible surface liquid is absorbed, stir and cover the rice.

Lower the flame to the lowest setting and allow it to cook for 20 minutes.

It’s done when all the liquid is absorbed and the grains are fluffy and fully cooked.

Remove bay leaves before serving.

Lemon Garlic Spinach

6 – 8 Servings

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

½ teaspoon crushed red chili peppers

1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic

2 pounds baby spinach

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

In a sauce pan, heat oil and chili peppers, add garlic and saute on medium heat 1 minute do not let garlic brown.

Add spinach, sea salt and lemon juice, mix thoroughly and saute just until spinach is wilted and all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Serve immediately.

Apricot Glazed Chicken Breast

4 Servings

Ingredients

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon garlic minced

½ – 1 teaspoon crushed red chili peppers

4 chicken breast, skin removed

¼ cup apricot preserves

½ tablespoon Dijon mustard

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine orange juice, lemon juice, salt, garlic and chili peppers in a container large enough to hold the breast. Add chicken breast and marinate overnight, turning once or twice.

Place chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and pour 1 cup of the marinade in the pan. Bake uncovered 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the preserves and mustard.

Brush the glaze over the breast during the final 15 minutes of cooking.