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Jamaica, Americas · Jamaican Rice and Peas

Rice-and-Peas Arancini with Jerk Mayo

Coconut rice and peas rolled around a cube of cheddar, crumbed and fried into crunchy bites, with a spicy jerk mayo for dipping: a pub-style snack.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time1 h 5 min
DifficultyMedium

Method

  1. Put the coconut milk, water, beans, grated garlic, thyme, three-quarters of the allspice and the salt in a 18 cm pot and bring to the boil on high heat. Add the rinsed rice, stir once, cover and cook on the lowest low heat for . Short-grain rice is sticky enough to hold the balls together.

    Add in this stepCoconut milk 200 mlWater 100 mlCanned red kidney beans, drained 120 gGarlic cloves, grated 1Fresh thyme sprigs 2Ground allspice ¾ tspSalt ½ tspShort-grain rice 120 g

    high heat→low heat

  2. Remove the thyme stalks, stir in the spring onions and lightly crush some of the beans with a spatula. Spread out on a tray and cool completely for . Warm rice won't hold its shape, so don't rush this (day-old rice works well too).

    Add in this stepSpring onions, sliced 1

  3. Cut the cheddar into 1.5 cm cubes. With wet hands, take about 50 g of rice (the size of an egg), flatten it, wrap it around a cube of cheese and press firmly into a tight ball. You'll get about 8 balls.

    Add in this stepCheddar (block) 60 g

  4. Coat carefully in flour, then beaten egg, then panko, pressing the crumbs on with your palm so they don't fall off in the oil.

    Add in this stepPlain flour 3 tbspEggs 1Panko breadcrumbs 50 g

  5. Jerk mayo: mix the mayonnaise with the lime juice, hot sauce and the rest of the allspice. Adjust the heat with the hot sauce.

    Add in this stepMayonnaise 4 tbspLime ¼Hot sauce (ideally a Scotch bonnet sauce) 1 tspGround allspice ¼ tsp

  6. Pour oil into a deep pot to a depth of 5 cm (no more than half full) and heat on medium heat to 175 °C. Lower the arancini in gently and fry in 2 batches, per batch, rolling them around until deep golden. A crowded pot drops the temperature and makes them burst. Stay by the pot and drain on a rack.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil for frying 700 ml

    medium heat

  7. Let them cool for 1–2 minutes (the cheese inside is very hot) and serve with the jerk mayo, a few lime wedges and extra spring onion.

Cook's tip

If the rice won't bind, mix in a tablespoon of beaten egg. Crumbed arancini freeze for a month; fry from frozen at 160 °C for 6 minutes. If you're using leftover basic rice and peas, the long-grain rice binds poorly, so grate the cheddar and mix it through the rice instead.

Cooking it at camp

Cook, shape and crumb at home, freeze and pack in the cooler. At camp, shallow-fry in 1.5 cm of oil in a cast-iron pan, rolling them around. The jerk mayo takes a minute to stir together on site.