Puerto Rican Rice (Arroz con Gandules)

Puerto Rican Rice – (Arroz con Gandules) – There’s nothing more quintessentially Puerto Rican than Arroz con gandules, also known as Puerto Rican Rice. We are making Arroz con gandules (Puerto Rican Rice) with pork and fried baby bananas (guineos ninos).

Arroz con gandules (Puerto Rican Rice) is part of the Puerto Rican national dish. If there’s a party in Puerto Rico, Arroz con gandules will be there.  Most families have a different way of preparing this recipe, but here’s the version courtesy of Nelson Soler.

You can also listen to the podcast version of this interview and cooking episode –

¬

Nelson Soler is my guest for “Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders”. Nelson Soler is the Founder, Chief Solutions Officer, and Chief Strategy Officer at Multicultural Entrepreneurial Institute. He was a Commissioner of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, President and CEO of the Latino Chamber of Commerce of SE Wisconsin, Executive Founding Director of the Latino Entrepreneurial Network of Southeastern Wisconsin, and Founder of the LEN LULAC Chapter.

What are Gandules?

Gandules (aka pigeon peas) are an ingredient unknown to most people outside of the Caribbean. Pigeon peas are small, oval beans with a nutty flavor.  They can be found fresh, frozen, canned, or dried.  They are a bright green color when they are fresh.  

What ingredients are in Arroz Con Gandules (Puerto Rican Rice)?

The main components of arroz con gandules are rice and pigeon peas. The key to the delicious flavor of this and many Puerto Rican recipes is aromatic sofrito, a blend of green peppers, onion, garlic, sweet Caribbean peppers, and cilantro.

Sofrito is the most essential ingredient in Puerto Rican cooking. Sazon seasoning& tomato paste give the rice its distinctive color, and herbs like fresh oregano and bay leaves provide a fragrance that tops it off.

Cooking With Milwaukee Community Leaders

Please “like” our YouTube Videos and follow us on our YouTube Channel. Cooking Secrets For Men is also on other social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

If you like this recipe, Arroz con Gandules, you will also enjoy trying our other recipes. This is our recipe for Chilaquiles. Or maybe try try Iconic Dominican recipe for Mangu. Or maybe you would like some Coq Au Vin, a classic French recipe.

Cooking Secrets for Men in the News

We have been fortunate enough to get positive publicity for our website, YouTube channel, and Social Media presence. Here are a few examples:

Our series, Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, is featured in the “Milwaukee Magazine” May 2023 edition, “Civic Gastronomy”. Click here to read the full article.

A few days later, they were discussing me on the radio. It is a local Foodie show,  “This Bites” on Radio Milwaukee 88.9, featuring dining critic Ann Christenson from Milwaukee Magazine and Radio Milwaukee’s resident foodie, Tarik Moody. My series, Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders, is in the show’s first few minutes.

“Cooking Secrets for Men” is on the list of the Top 20 Men’s Cooking Websites on the Internet. You can read that article here. See where we rank for Men’s Cooking Websites.

Cooking Secrets for Men is now on the list of Milwaukee’s Top 50 Foodie Influencers on Instagram.

More Articles

Here is a recent interview I did with North Shore Family Adventures here in Milwaukee

We were featured in a Redfin article! Check it out here: Designing the Perfect Kitchen for Home Cooks.

Shepherd Express (Milwaukee) article on our Cooking with Milwaukee Community Leaders show – you can read that article here: Massaman Curry

Good Counsel HS (My Alma Mater) Magazine article about Cooking Secrets for Men – you can read that article here.

Meet Charlie DeSando – featured in the “Voyage Tampa” article, available to read here.

CanvasRebel Magazine Interview, available here.

E-Cookbooks for free Download

All of our e-cookbooks are available on our download page. 

Please send any comments or questions to cookingsecretsformen@gmail.com. Thanks!