#readcookeat recipe : Turks & Caicos Islands Peas and Rice (Deadly Deceit)

A few weeks ago, I read Jean Harrod's Deadly Deceit - click through to read my review - and was inspired by the exotic Carribean setting of the Turks & Caicos Islands. As I mentioned when I tried (and half succeeded !) a tropical mango and coconut Tropical Crunch Cake, there weren't many references to food in the book itself (or, at least, not any that I fancied trying - conch stew just didn't appeal !), but a quick google search threw up some local fayre that I knew would be a big hit with the Madhouse family. One such dish was Peas and Rice, which uses a local variety of peas called Pigeon Peas, which appear to come in a variety of colours and forms, resembling anything from yellow split peas to black-eyes beans or even brown peas. Recipes seem to say that you can use any type of dried beans, so as I had a tin of chick peas in the cupboard, I used those. It's a great family-friendly one-pot-wonder similar to paella that the whole family loved. The addition of hot dog sausages may not sound authentic, but it was actually a variation suggested on a genuine Caribbean website and nicely used up a pack of mini hotdog sausages that were lingering at the back of the fridge !

Peas and Rice

ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions

300g bacon pieces

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green pepper

1/2 a chorizo

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 can chick peas/pigeon peas

2 cups rice

4 cups water

pack of mini hot dogs

salt, pepper, sprinkle of chilli flakes, oregano

Heat the olive oil and toss in the bacon and onion. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring.

Add the red and green peppers and fry for a few more minutes.

Throw in the chopped chorizo.

Next to go in are the mini hot dog sausages. Give it all a good stir.

Throw in the rice.

Then add the chick peas and the water.

Stir through the tomato paste and season with salt, pepper, oregano and a sprinkle of chilli flakes. (Just leave them out if you don't like spicy food or add extra if want a hefty kick.)

Leave to cook for 10 minutes (depending on the rice - check the packet for cooking times, as they vary) until the water is absorbed and the rice cooked.

Linking up to the #readcookeat challenge at Chez Maximka.

Linking up to #KitchenClearout as it used up some mini hot dog sausages.