Pumpkin rice rice is a dish I only just started to appreciate after having it at an “Island Grill” fast food joint in Kingston,  just over a year ago. Though that pumpkin rice was rather bland, it worked well with the side of spicy jerk chicken and creamy coleslaw or maybe I was terribly hungry after a day with friends exploring the sights and sound of Jamaica. I recall our dad speaking about this dish when we were growing up and how good it was with pieces of “saltfish”, but I don’t ever recall my mom making it. The two main rices dishes in our home were cook-up rice and the king of rice dishes.. pelau. Even if our mom did make pumpkin rice, it would be her and the old man eating it alone as you couldn’t force us to eat pumpkin as kids.

You’ll Need…

2 cups diced pumpkin
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt *see note below
2 cups brown rice (long grain)
tablespoon olive oil (veg oil or butter)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
3 – 3 1/2 veg stock *see note below

Notes: By using the whole scotch bonnet pepper in the dish I got the flavor and not the heat. Break open the pepper near the end if heat is your thing. I used vegetable stock as I wanted to keep this dish vegetarian and I also wanted a mild stock which wouldn’t over power the pumpkin. You’re free to use chicken or beef if you prefer, but be aware that the overall flavor of the dish will be changed. I used Calabaza (Cucurbita moschata), also known as West Indian, Cuban, or Caribbean pumpkin, but I think butternut squash would make for an excellent substitution. Be aware that a lot of stock comes loaded with sodium, so if you’re not familiar with the stock you’re using, add half the salt and adjust near the end of cooking.

* Be sure to watch the video at the bottom to see how I peeled and cubed the pumpkin and for general instructions on cooking this tasty vegetarian pumpkin rice dish.

Start by peppering everything for cooking. Peel and dice the pumpkin, dice the garlic and onion and grate the ginger. Then in a deep pot, heat the oil on a med/high heat and add the diced onion, garlic and the thyme. I left it on the sprig as I wanted the flavor from the stems and near the end of cooking I have the opportunity to remove the stems from the pot. Allow this to soften up on a med heat for a couple minutes.

Now add the grated ginger and black pepper to the pot and give it a good stir. After cubing the pumpkin do give it a good rinse under cool water and drain. Now you can add the diced pumpkin pieces and give it a good stir. With your heat at a med/low setting, allow this to cook for a couple minutes to infuse all the wonderful flavors. As this cook, be sure to wash your rice (see video below) as we’ve done in the past. Basically all you’re doing is… place the rice in a deep bowl and cover with water, now using your hands do a sort of massage motion to allow the grains to work between your fingers. You will notice that the water will go cloudy… pour out and repeat until you have clear water. usually 3-4 times.

With the rice now washed/drained, add it to the pot and stir. Pour in the stock, add the salt (remember my note above) and plop in the scotch bonnet pepper into the pot.

Bring this up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer  and cover the pot to cook off the liquid and get the rice nice and tender. After about 10 minutes or so you’ll notice that your liquid would have reduced, the pieces of pumpkin will start to fall apart and the rice grains will start to get plump.

Here is where this can become a bit tricky as the brand of rice you use may have a bearing on this part going forward. After 18 minutes of my rice simmering away I noticed that the rice grains were almost all the way cooked and I still had some liquid. So I turned up the heat and burned that off… remember to stir or it will stick to the bottom of the pot. I like my rice a bit grainy so I had to account for it cooking further in it’s own heat, even after I turned off the stove. If you like you rice creamy, give it a bit more time cooking to really plump up the rice. The texture and consistency of the final pumpkin rice dish will depend on your own liking. remember to now remove the whole pepper and sprigs of thyme. Check for salt and if you want a blast of heat, do burst open the pepper.. but be warned.

There you go, a hundred times better than what you’d find at Island Grill and be sure to add a pinch or nutmeg and/or allspice (pimento berries) to really give this a wicked flavor infusion.

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Though you may know it as rice and peas or peas and rice, peas is not actually used in this dish. Instead red kidney beans is the actual “peas” of choice used. And though we may associate this dish as being uniquely Jamaican, it’s also enjoyed throughout the Caribbean. However there are limited restaurants in Trinidad and Tobago that serves it and I’m still to find a home where it’s part of their weekly menu. Our choice for a rice dish with peas is Pelau.

This recipe is a modified version of a recipe that was passed on to me from a good friend from St Vincent. According to him, he makes the best rice and peas in the Caribbean… we’ll leave it as that for now!

You’ll Need…

2 cups brown rice (not instant)
3 cups water
1 cup coconut milk (unsweetened)
2 cloves of garlic
1 scallion (sliced)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 can red beans (kidney) 19oz
1 teaspoon salt
Dash black pepper
1 whole hot pepper (scotch bonnet, habanero or whatever you like) * This is optional.
1 medium onion diced

Start by dicing the onion and scallion and smash the garlic so it’s crushed but not in many pieces. This way you can remove it from the finished dish easily. Also remember to remove the thyme off the sprig or you can leave it on the sprig and take the spring out when the dish is done cooking.

Then we’ll put a deep pot on medium heat and pour in the oil to heat up. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, thyme and scallion. Allow this to cook on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.

While this cooks, let’s get the rice ready. I usually wash my rice before cooking to get rid of any grit and dirt. I do so by putting the rice into a bowl and let warm water cover it. Then using my hand and fingers I massage the rice. You’ll notice the water will go a bit gritty/white (see pic below). Drain that water out and rise a couple times again. Be sure to drain out the water well the final time. Now the onion should be soft and the oil infused with the other ingredients we added to the pot. Empty the wash rice and give the pot a good stir.

I’ve seem people empty the can of red beans directly into the pot, but I hate the liquid it’s packaged in. So I drain and give a quick rinse before emptying into the pot. After that I add the water, coconut milk, dash of black pepper, salt and the whole pepper. By putting the pepper whole, I can remove it at the end… plus it will get some of the flavour of the pepper without the actual heat. I then bring it up to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and cover the pot. This will then cook for about 25 minutes.

Stir every 5 minutes or so, and play close attention to the level of liquid. If you find that the liquid is drying up too fast, turn down the heat a bit. The final 10 minutes is crucial, since you want the rice to to cook, but not overcook and go mushy. If after 20 minutes you find that the rice is plump, turn up the heat (remove the lid) and cook off any remaining liquid. TIP: Here’s a simple way to test the rice to see if it’s done. Take a couple gains out of the pot and place on the counter top or on a side dish. Now gently press your fingers down and across the grain of rice. If there’s no solid texture (grainy feel), it means the rice is fully cooked.

As mentioned the last 10 minutes is crucial, since this is where you can control the desired texture of the rice. With the use of coconut milk and the fact that the rice contains starch it’s very easy to go creamy and sticky. I like my rice grainy so I burn off the liquid very fast once I determine that it fully cooked. Most times I under cook it (means the rice could use about 5 minutes more cooking) then I remove it off the heat with the lid covered. The residual heat in the pot continues to cook it while not on the heat of the stove.

* If you find that your rice is not fully cooked and your liquid is gone, simply add some boiling water to the pot and continue cooking.

The finished dish with some curry chicken wings.

I’d love to hear from you, especially if you have a different way of preparing rices and peas. Please leave me your comments in the area provided below.

Happy cooking

chris…