This arroz con gandules family recipe was pressed into the palm of Cynthia Fuentes by her husband\u2019s aunt Carmen when she was a newlywed. \u201cThis is one of Steve’s favorite dishes, and you’ve got to learn how to make it,\u201d Cynthia remembers her husband\u2019s tia telling her, welcoming her into the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cynthia had already heard a lot about this beloved Christmas side dish Puerto Ricans make every December on the island and here in the States, she says. \u201cSteve would always talk about when he was growing up that he would go to his aunt\u2019s house on Christmas. And she would always make this arroz con gandules. And sometimes, before Christmas, she\u2019d send a special plate home with him for his dad,\u201d says Cynthia. \u201cBut it would never make it to him, because Steve would eat the entire thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arroz con gandules is a festive dish anticipated every December at the Puerto Rican holiday table. Its defining ingredient is gandules or pigeon peas: small, stewed-brown beans that originated in India. This legume journeyed to Africa first and in the 1600s was brought to Puerto Rico by enslaved people, along with other staples from their homeland: plantains and yams. This legume is a favorite in cuisines throughout the Caribbean and goes by many names. In Barbados, it picked up the name pigeon pea, because it was (yep, you guessed it) used as pigeon feed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n