Comfort food! That’s what this dish, split peas and rice with pigtail, is all about. Pickled pigtail has always been a staple in my diet while growing up and yet, even though I could afford more expensive meats now, I still prefer to buy good ole pigtail. This is the stuff I grew up on, and can’t seem to let go.
Old Fashion Split Peas and Rice with Pigtail
So why pigtail you might ask? You see when finances were tight long ago, or it was close to month end you could always rely on this and other preserved meats like smoked bone, smoked herring and saltfish, to pull you through. They were easy to prepare meals that was well received by all in the family.
And they fit the situation perfectly: They lasted long whether in or out of the fridge; they were cheap ( relatively) and gave any dish their inherent flavour. You could make a nice bowl of smoke bone flavoured soup with provision and dumpling, dumpling and smoke herring or saltfish yam and smoke herring or my favourite bhaji rice with pigtail…the list goes on.
Then too coming to think of it, long time there wasn’t much refrigerators around, so people would have relied on these preserved meats. Which could be a possible explanation why there has been so many Trini recipes made with smoked bone, saltfish, smoked herring and of course pigtail.
Well, that’s just my theory! Anyhow, I hope you enjoy split peas and rice with pigtail. It is a Trini dish that’s dear to me and that I would eat no matter where life takes me. Here’s split peas and rice with pigtail.
Split Peas and Rice with Pigtail
SPLIT PEAS AND RICE WITH PIGTAIL
Ingredients:
2 cups rice
1 cup split peas
½ pound pigtail
6 leaves chadon beni, chopped finely
1 tablespoon roucou
3 pimento peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 hot pepper
1 tablespoon coconut powder
2 tablespoons oil
salt to taste
Direction:
Put the split peas to soak for 1 hour or overnight. Boil the rice and set aside.
Note: Based on the technique we learnt from the doubles post, you could soak the split peas for less time and use some baking soda when you’re boiling it later on.
Pressure cook the pigtail for 10 – 15 minutes and set aside.
Put the split peas to boil until soft. I looks good now.
Sauté the onion, garlic and pimento pepper. Add the pigtail and let cook for about 2 – 3 minutes.
Pour in the split peas, and add the roucou. Then add the roucou and the whole hot pepper. (Mostly, the roucou gaves the dish a wonderful lively appeal). If you don’t like hot pepper, you can use pimento, a milder pepper without the extreme heat.
Variation: You can add a teaspoon of saffron powder instead of the roucou if you want a stronger yellow colour.
Add the coconut powder and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
The split peas looks ready now; add salt to taste.
Note: What we’re looking for is semi thick consistency . Not too thick; not too watery. More like a cream soup.
Mix in the chadon beni.
The finished split peas with pigtail. Serve over rice.
Some facts about split peas:
Split peas is an amazing ingredients as it helps promote good digestive heatlh and cholesterol control. A cup of split peas has about 244 calories, 19 grams of protein, 2.7 milligrams of iron, and 750 milligrams of potassium.
Split peas cook well for soups, but can also be used in salads. You can also use bacon and ham in both dishes. They give the split peas a sweet flavour.
Don’t forget to leave your comment about split peas and rice with pigtail in the comment box below.
Split Peas and Rice with Pigtail
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice cooked
- 1 cup split peas
- 1/2 lb pigtail
- 6 leaves chadon beni chopped finely
- 1 tbsp. roucou
- 3 pimento peppers chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 hot pepper
- 1 tbsp. coconut powder
- 2 tbsp. oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Put the split peas to soak for 1 hour. Boil the rice and set aside.
- Pressure cook the pigtail for 10 – 15 minutes and set aside. Put the split peas to boil until soft.
- Saute the onion, garlic and pimento pepper. Add the pigtail and let cook for about 2 – 3 minutes. Pour in the split peas then add the roucou and hot pepper (whole).
- Add the coconut powder and allow to simmer for 10 minutes add salt to taste. (Note: What we’re looking for is semi thick consistency. Not too thick; not too watery).
- Mix in the chadon beni. Serve over rice.
Hi Felix,
I made this today, but I use channa dahl, instead of split peas, did not have any split peas. It came out very thin, do you think because I did not use the split peas? It taste oaky. next time I make it I will make it with split peas first time I had this. One other thing do you have any ideas how to store pigtails I go to the City and I buy about six pounds, because I live far from the City, I only go to the City once every two months. Thanks for the recipes Judy
Judy you’re in uncharted territory. I’m not sure what could have caused it to get thin but if you pressure cooked the channa you could have gotten the same consistency of the split peas. Sounds like something for me to try as well 🙂
About the pigtail, the pigtails are already preserved by placing it in brine. I usually just place mine in the fridge, but then I don’t buy as much and by month end they are all used up. To me the fridge seems like a safe bet.
Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Hi Hi. Love your website but the only thing I find with this is the use of the coconut powder. Using one tablepoon coconut powder translates into what for those who do not get coconut powder or worse yet, who wouldn’t dare use it. It is just an observation on behalf of those who are not too familiar with these types of recipes and know what to do.
As I blog I grow….I don’t use coconut powder anymore I prefer to use the real thing. For me the table spoon of coconut powder would translate into about 1/2 cup coconut milk. Hope this answers your comment 🙂
I made this dish today it was great!!!!!!! Followed everything to a T – the roucou and adding coconut milk instead of the powder, it was excellent, and had no troubles cooking it, thanks for reviving some old time cooking!
can you give the recipe for split peas and rice cookup, like a pelau?
http://simplytrinicooking.com/2008/07/split-peas-rice.html
Hi felix, never made this and don’t own a pressure cooker. However, how long to boil the split peas until soft?
If you don’t soak the split peas it will take about 1 to 2 hours of simmering. Soaked split peas will take about 40 minutes.
Taste so good my hubby loves this. He’s Trinidadian and I’m Jamaican so it’s a totally different culture, so cooking something that he loves makes him happy and I’m happy it worked out thank you.