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Arroz com pequi
Rice with pequi fruit
Arroz com pequi: Goiás rice cooked with fragrant pequi fruit, garlic and onion
Pequi is the taste of the cerrado: a yellow-orange fruit with a powerful perfume, somewhere between cheese, apricot and petrol, that goianos love and newcomers need time to get used to. In Goiânia and around Brasília, rice cooked with pequi turns golden and absorbs that aroma; it is often made with chicken, but this meatless version is everyday food in the November-to-February season. Pequi is sold fresh in cerrado markets and frozen or jarred in brine in Brazilian shops elsewhere. Important: the stone inside the flesh is covered in fine, sharp spines. Never bite into a pequi; gnaw the flesh off gently with your teeth, and warn your guests. The usual slip is stirring the rice too much after the water goes in, which breaks the soft fruit apart. Chef's tip: fry the pequi in the oil first until it colours, because that flavoured oil is what tints and scents every grain.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp neutral oil
- 8 pequi fruitsfresh or frozen, rinsed; or 200 g jarred pequi in brine, drained
- 1 onionchopped
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 10 ½ oz long-grain white ricerinsed
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1 tsp saltless if using jarred pequi
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric (optional)
- 3 tbsp parsley and spring onion (cheiro-verde) (optional)chopped
- 1 malagueta or other hot chilli (optional)chopped
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat 3 tbsp neutral oil in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Add 8 pequi fruits and fry for 5 minutes, turning, until golden and the oil has turned yellow and fragrant.
5 minStep 3: Stir in 10 ½ oz long-grain white rice and ¼ tsp ground turmeric if using, and cook for 2 minutes, until the grains are coated in the yellow oil.
2 minStep 4: Pour in 3 cups boiling water, add 1 tsp salt and bring to the boil. Cover and cook over a low heat for 15–18 minutes, without stirring, until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.
17 minStep 5: Leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes. Fork through gently, scatter with 3 tbsp parsley and spring onion (cheiro-verde) and 1 malagueta or other hot chilli if using, and serve with a warning to gnaw, not bite, the pequi.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 64 g
- Fat
- 12 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arroz com pequi take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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