Moro de Gandules Recipe

Native Lower East Sider Frances Peña shares her mother’s recipe for a hearty Dominican rice dish.

Part of our 2022 Gala Celebration highlights the recipes of families past, whether they resided in one of our two tenements at 97 and 103 Orchard Street or in the broader Lower East Side neighborhood.

Frances Peña is a proud Lower East Side native and a valued member of the Tenement Museum staff community for 20 years. Growing up in a lively Dominican home, Frances remembers her mother’s hearty home cooking and the well-worn recipe for this classic Dominican rice dish she taught Frances and her sisters how to make.

Frances’ Tip: “The pot to cook the rice with pigeon peas has to be stainless steel. It won’t taste the same otherwise!”

Ingredients

• ½  tsp white vinegar
• ½ tsp of oil
• green pepper
• garlic
• onions
• cilantro
• spices: black pepper, oregano, adobo, sazón accent
• tomato paste
• gandules (pigeon peas)
• rice (whichever kind)

Directions

1. After chopping the cilantro, dice the green pepper, garlic, and onions.
2. In the pot, add the white vinegar, oil, green pepper, garlic, onions, cilantro, spices, tomato paste, and pigeon peas. Leave to sauté briefly before stirring and adding 2 cups of water. Leave to boil at medium heat.
3. While waiting for the mix to boil, use a strainer to rinse the rise. Then, add the washed rice into the pot.
4. When the water starts to boil through the rice and small bubbles begin to appear, it’s almost time to cover the pot. When you see the bubbling holes in the middle, cover the pot and lower the heat.
5. Cook for 30 minutes. Then, turn over the rice. Make sure you grab all of the rice from the bottom and flip it, so the rice that was on top is now near the bottom.
6. Cover the pot for 15 minutes. Stir and mix the rice again, cook for another 10 minutes, and you’re done!