Lisa’s Festive Rice with Coconut & Pigeon Peas
This rice with coconut and pigeon peas, or arroz con coco y gandules, is famous in Lisa Kear’s family for its rich flavor and fragrance, so of course it’s on the menu at her yearly Christmas feast. Today, Lisa lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, but she and her sister grew up in Colon, Panama. She remembers this sweet rice recipe as a special-occasion treat made by her grandmother, who was a great cook and Lisa’s inspiration in the cocina.
While most traditional arroz con coco recipes use canned coconut milk, Lisa swears by using fresh milk straight from the coconut. “The extra effort is so worth it,” Lisa said. And if you use a real coconut, she adds, the leftover grated coconut can be used to make so many other Panamanian traditional sweet treats, like enyucado cake and cocadas candy. Lisa especially is proud to use every part of the coconut—the milk and the meat—since it allows her to stay true to her abuela’s philosophy: Don’t let anything go to waste in the kitchen. Her grandmother was a master at making the most of every ingredient, even using the claws and head of a chicken in her sancocho de pollo!
Lisa tells Familia Kitchen she has so many fond childhood memories of making coconut dishes like this one with her abuela. In Panama, her family lived on a home that had lots of coconut trees in their backyard, so Lisa always had access to the freshest cocos. (Plus in Panama, coconut trees grow year round, she says.) Don’t worry. If you are not blessed with coconut trees in your area, many Latino, Asian, and other specialty grocery stores sell whole or halved fresh coconuts, which is where Lisa buys her coconuts today.
Hungry for more home-cooking-style Panamanian food? Visit here for more of Lisa’s traditional recipes, including: her family-famous beef empanadas, her sweet guava-and-cheese empanadas, her Panamanian pollo guisado (stewed chicken) with spaghetti, her Familia Kitchen Recipe Contest-winning Panamanian flan, and her handmade Panamanian corn tortillas. If you do use fresh coconuts and aren’t sure what to do with the leftover grated coconut after you make this rice with coconut and pigeon peas dish, find more coco-licious recipes sent in by our Familia Kitchen homecooking community here.
Ready to Make Lisa’s Rice with Coconut and Pigeon Peas Dish?
MoreLike This
Got a question or suggestion?
Please rate this recipe and leave any tips, substitutions, or Qs you have!