Bahamian peas and rice
Peas 'n' rice is on almost every plate in the Bahamas, from Nassau fish fry shacks at Arawak Cay to Sunday dinner in Eleuthera, served with fried chicken, steamed fish or cracked conch. Unlike Jamaican rice and peas there is no coconut: pigeon peas and rice are cooked in a rich base of browned salt pork, onion, sweet pepper, tomato paste and thyme, which gives the rice its signature brown-red colour. This recipe contains pork (salt pork or bacon). The usual mistake is stirring once the rice is in, which breaks the grains and makes it gummy; cover tightly and leave it alone. It is done when the liquid has gone and the grains are tender and separate. Chef's tip: let the tomato paste fry in the pork fat until it darkens to brick red before adding water; that is where the colour and depth come from.
























