Rice and Peas is one of the most well known Caribbean Dishes. It is eaten daily by Jamaicans all over the world.

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Ingredients

3 cups of rice
1 can of tinned or 1 cup of fresh red peas (either kidney beans or pigeon peas)
5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 uncut scotch bonnet pepper
3 Scallion (spring onions may be used as a substitute)
1 tin (or one cup) of coconut milk
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (2 teaspoons of dried thyme may be used as a substitute)

Preparation

1. If you are using fresh peas then you will need to wash these

2. If you are using fresh Peas then you will need to pour on three cups of water and leave to soak overnight

3. Crush the garlic and add to seven cups of boiling water

4. If you are using fresh peas add them now and boil for 45 minutes.

5. You can test to see if the peas are cooked by crushing them against the lid of the pot. (If they crush easily, you are ready to move on to the next step)

6. If you are using tinned peas jest add them to the pot and move straight on to the next step.

7. Add your coconut milk, rice, salt, black pepper and thyme to the mix.

8. Crush the scallion (do not chop) and add this. Also add the uncut scotch bonnet pepper, nb - the pepper remains uncut so as to not make the rice spicy, just give it a subtle peppery flavour.

9. The Rice and Peas should be ready after about 40 minutes (exact cooking time will depend on the brand of rice used).

10. The Rice and Peas is now ready to serve!

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