Gandules con Bolitas de Plátano (Pigeon Peas With Plantain Dumplings)

By Von Diaz

Gandules con Bolitas de Plátano (Pigeon Peas With Plantain Dumplings)
Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(102)
Notes
Read community notes

Good cooks need good eaters, and preparing food for people I care about brings me tremendous joy. This dish is among those I’ve shared with others, and one that I share here in honor of my dear friend Liyna Anwar, who died a year ago. We were colleagues, and, because she was Muslim and ate strictly halal, I often brought her vegetarian dishes to sample. This was among her favorites: a deeply earthy dish that is sumptuous and nourishing. Green plantains are finely grated, mixed with simple spices, formed into balls with a spoon, and then dunked directly into simmering pigeon peas; the natural starch of the plantains sets up without added flour. Liyna once prepared this dish alongside me, delighting in the experience of forming the buoyant dumplings. The memory of her happiness blends now with my own memories of eating it.

Featured in: Von Diaz’s Essential Puerto Rican Recipes

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Gandules

    • 2tablespoons olive oil
    • ¾cup sofrito
    • 1pound home-cooked or canned gandules (pigeon peas), drained (about 5 to 6 cups); see Notes
    • 8cups vegetable stock
    • 2dried bay leaves
    • 1teaspoon kosher salt

    For the Plantain Dumplings

    • 3very green plantains, peeled and soaked in cold water until ready to use (see Notes)
    • 1teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½teaspoon ground annatto or sweet paprika
    • 1½teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
    • Cooked white rice, for serving
    • Sliced avocado, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

285 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 21 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 853 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the gandules: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add sofrito and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and mixture darkens. Add gandules, vegetable stock, bay leaves and salt, and increase heat to high. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    While gandules are cooking, prepare the plantain dumplings: Grate or blend plantains in a food processor until smooth or shred them finely on a box grater. Put grated plantains in a medium bowl and add cumin, garlic powder, annatto and salt. Mix well with a fork to incorporate. The mixture will be thick and a little sticky, but the natural starch of the plantain will set up quickly.

  3. Step 3

    Return the gandules to a rolling simmer. Standing over the pot, scoop out about 1 tablespoon of plantain masa and put directly into the pot. The dumplings will rise immediately to the top. Repeat with the remaining masa, careful to avoid putting fresh dumplings on top of others, until you’ve used up all of the plantain masa, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking to one another.

  4. Step 4

    Once all the plantain dumplings have been added, lower heat and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring gently a few times. Remove from heat, and adjust salt to taste. Serve as a soup, accompanied by white rice, with avocado slices on the side.

Tips
  • Gandules can be challenging to source in areas without Caribbean communities, but they’re often available in the international section of the grocery store and international farmer’s markets. You can find (uncooked) dried or (cooked) canned varieties, but should seek out frozen gandules, which have a richer taste and firmer texture.
  • You should use very green plantains for this dish. If they are even close to yellow, they will fall apart in the broth.

Ratings

4 out of 5
102 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Mirem

I grow recao, oregano and aji dulce in my Brooklyn backyard, and make a lot of sofrito to freeze. Now that it’s spring I’m running out, so I supplemented with an additional onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, and half a bell pepper. I also added some tomato paste. Used frozen gandules and homemade veg stock. Achiote in the oil for the gandules, fresh garlic in the plantains. Results? Fantastic! The dumplings taste like pasteles or even alcapurrias. I am one happy boricua:-)

Nancy

Cook dried grandules in the Ipot (pressure cooker). If you are not vegetarian, a bit of ham adds flavor.

Ricardo

It is extremely hard to make this recipe out of plantain alone. It is common to do a blend of green bananas and plantains. I use 3 to 4 green bananas to 1 good sized plantain and season to taste.

Patti

loved it, actually quite simple to make, and agree if you are not veggie add some ham or bacon, I will next time (but I love it veggie too)

Laura

My dumplings did not stock together at all, so I had a thickened soup broth at the end.

Adina

It's alright but kind of bland. The sofrito smelled amazing when I was sautéing it, but the flavor got completely lost in 8 cups of vegetable broth and 6 cups of peas. The dish just needs way more flavor and some acid too. (Maybe lime juice would help?) My husband and I both thought this dish was pretty flat-tasting. We don't plan on making it again.

Ricardo

It is extremely hard to make the dumplings out of plantain alone. It is common to make these dumplings using green bananas and plantains. I usually do 3-4 green bananas and 1 good sized plantain. Season to taste.

mango

Beans and broth good. Plantain dumplings blah. I won’t make again

MJ

Actually a very simple but impressive recipe to make. Delecious soup

Bámily

I alternate between Florida and Puerto Rico so sometimes I get my grocery shopping expectations confused. For the "bollitas de platano" I use frozen "masa de pasteles" or "alcapurria" that you can find in the frozen section of almost every supermarket in PR or FL, no need to go to a specialty market, or to peel and grate plantains (hate it!) This masa is a tastier and creamier mix of plantains and yautia. Just make sure to squeeze as much water as possible from the masa as it is defrosting.

Lisa

I was so excited about this dish. The dumplings did hold together but ultimately it just didn’t have the depth of flavor that I was so hoping for.

Desiree

While I haven’t made this recipe yet, I have to share my excitement to see it! My grandmother would make this for me when I’d visit her every year in Chicago. I wrote it down the last time she made it for me and misplaced it. So thank you for this recipe, I can not wait to try it!

mango

Beans and broth good. Plantain dumplings blah. I won’t make again

Ricardo

It is extremely hard to make the dumplings out of plantain alone. It is common to make these dumplings using green bananas and plantains. I usually do 3-4 green bananas and 1 good sized plantain. Season to taste.

Ricardo

It is extremely hard to make this recipe out of plantain alone. It is common to do a blend of green bananas and plantains. I use 3 to 4 green bananas to 1 good sized plantain and season to taste.

Mirem

I save my own recao seeds. The originals came from Puerto Rico.

Mirem

I grow recao, oregano and aji dulce in my Brooklyn backyard, and make a lot of sofrito to freeze. Now that it’s spring I’m running out, so I supplemented with an additional onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, and half a bell pepper. I also added some tomato paste. Used frozen gandules and homemade veg stock. Achiote in the oil for the gandules, fresh garlic in the plantains. Results? Fantastic! The dumplings taste like pasteles or even alcapurrias. I am one happy boricua:-)

Molly

Would love to know how you grow recao? How did you get seeds??

Adina

It's alright but kind of bland. The sofrito smelled amazing when I was sautéing it, but the flavor got completely lost in 8 cups of vegetable broth and 6 cups of peas. The dish just needs way more flavor and some acid too. (Maybe lime juice would help?) My husband and I both thought this dish was pretty flat-tasting. We don't plan on making it again.

Laura

My dumplings did not stock together at all, so I had a thickened soup broth at the end.

smith

how long to do soak plantains? Do you peel and soak them whole?

Charissa

This is an amazing dish!

Patti

loved it, actually quite simple to make, and agree if you are not veggie add some ham or bacon, I will next time (but I love it veggie too)

Nancy

Cook dried grandules in the Ipot (pressure cooker). If you are not vegetarian, a bit of ham adds flavor.

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