Rice & Peas with Callaloo

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Skill Level	Easy

Preparation Time	10 minutes (+ soaking time)	Total Time	90 minutes
Servings	6	Cost Per Serving	$0.86

2 cups	Light Coconut Milk
1 cup	Gungo Peas (Pigeon Peas) (if using dried peas, soak overnight)
2 cloves	Garlic
2 cups	Brown Rice
1	Medium Onion, roughly chopped
3	Spring Onions, roughly chopped
3 sprigs	Thyme, whole
1	Scotch Bonnet Pepper, whole (optional)
2 cups	Callaloo or Spinach, roughly chopped

Add peas, garlic and coconut milk to a large pot and bring up to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover with lid, and simmer for about 1 hour.
Add onions, thyme, rice, scotch bonnet and callaloo to the pot with the peas. Add enough water to cover rice. Cover again with lid and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
Remove the whole pepper and sprigs of thyme from the pot.
Season to taste and serve.

PDF link to nutrition facts table for rice and peas with callaloo

Pigeon peas contain 5 times as much vitamin A and 3 times as much vitamin C as regular green peas. These vitamins act as antioxidants, strengthening the immune system and protecting the body against free radical damage that is associated with chronic disease.
One cup of cooked pigeon peas provides 11 grams of protein. On their own, most beans are not a complete protein because they lack some of the essential amino acids, the building blocks that are required to make protein in our bodies. Grains such as brown rice are a perfect complement to beans, because they are rich in the amino acids that are missing in the beans. We used to think that to make a complete protein, complementary proteins such as beans and grains must be eaten at the same meal. Now we know that even eating them during the same day will still build a complete protein.
One cup of pigeon peas contains one third of the folate you need in a day. Folate is a B vitamin that plays an important role in repairing damage to healthy cells and is needed for red blood cell formation. Research suggests that eating foods high in folate helps to lower pancreatic cancer risk.