A Jamaican rice and peas recipe for the slow cooker. This flavorful, easy recipe brings delicious Carribean flavor to any meal as a side dish, or a complete meal on its own.
3 scallionssliced, white and green parts separated
1teaspoonthyme leaves
½ tspground gingeror, 1 2" piece of fresh ginger, minced
1teaspoonred pepper flakes
¼teaspoonallspice
1.5cupslong grain ricerinsed
½teaspooncoarse salt
2bay leaves
Instructions
Sort beans, rinse, and cover with water to soak overnight in the fridge.
Drain beans, rinse, and put into a large pot of fresh water.
Bring to a boil, and boil for 10-15 minutes.
Drain, then add beans to the slow cooker, along with the stock, coconut milk, lime juice, rice, garlic, thyme, allspice, ginger, white parts of scallions, kosher salt, red pepper flakes, and bay leaves.
Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours until rice is cooked, and beans are tender.
Remove the bay leaves and serve hot, garnished with green parts of the scallion.
Notes
*Important! Soak and pre-boil beans: Don't skip this step. Dried red kidney beans contain a toxic compound called lectin which is toxic to humans. Soaking the beans overnight and then boiling them in fresh water neutralizes the toxin. Slow cookers don't reach a high enough temperature to do this on their own.
Rinse the rice: Before cooking rice, always rinse it by putting it into a seive and running it under cold water. Rinse until the water runs clear. Rinsing the rice removes a lot of the excess starch so the cooked rice will have nicely separated grains and will not be mushy.
Cooking time: Don't overcook, or the rice will be mushy. Slow cookers vary in temperatures and cooking time. Your rice and beans are ready when the beans are tender and the rice is cooked.
Storage: Store leftover coconut rice and beans in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To freeze: portion comletely cooled rice and beans into airtight freezer bags or containers. Freeze for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Seasonings: You can replace the ginger and allspice with one or two teaspoons of jerk seasoning, which will always contain ground allspice berries, and often ginger as well.
Canned Beans: You can use canned kidney beans or black beans in this recipe. Drain and rinse the canned beans and add them to the slow cooker three hours before end of the cooking time.