Vegetarian cooking: Jamaican rice and peas

Every Jamaican household, rich or poor, serves rice and red peas, the nutritionally complete one-pot meal. It's the backbone of the island's cuisine, food writer Lucinda Scala Quinn says. She also points out that "red peas are what folks outside Jamaica know as kidney beans."

Quinn includes the recipe in her new cookbook, Lucinda's Authentic Jamaican (Wiley, 2006, $17.95), a warm, appetizing, recipe-packed survey of the island's cooking traditions.

Quinn, who spends a lot of time in Jamaica, is head of the food department of Martha Stewart Living and other magazines, and is the host of related TV food shows. The book's introduction is an affectionate taste-tour of the island, followed by about 50 recipes. Color photos of locations and food set the scene.

The rice and peas dish is a Sunday lunch staple, along with fried plantains - "yet for my money it's a perfect choice all by itself for any meal any day," Quinn says. "The basic recipe has many variations according to personal tradition." Her preference is not to add hot pepper, she says, keeping it as a sweet, smooth complement to more robustly spiced dishes.

Jamaican Rice and Peas

Makes 6 servings.

1/2 pound dried red peas (kidney beans) or small red beans (1 cup)

6 to 8 cups coconut milk

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 whole scallions, crushed

2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

2 teaspoons salt

Wash the beans thoroughly and place them in a medium-size saucepan with the coconut milk, black pepper, scallions and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, or until the beans are almost tender (adding water as needed to keep the beans covered). Remove the thyme (if using whole sprigs) and scallions. Add the rice and salt. If necessary, add more water so that the liquid is 1 inch above the rice. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff it with a fork. The grains of rice should easily separate and not be mushy.