The term rice and peas conjure up different images for different people depending on your upbringing and culture. For the indigenous people of the UK, rice and peas is not a staple dish and as such does not muster up a particular image. If anything, they probably are likely to think of rice with peas. Green peas. Placed alongside on the plate next to rice as an accompaniment.

   For black people, African and Caribbean, rice and peas is exactly that; rice and peas. Never rice with peas. For people of a certain generation, when school dinners were common in schools, the horrifying thought of Caribbean cuisine day in the canteen is a memory to shudder at. 

    The aforementioned rice and peas were, always, rice with peas. Green peas. Ugh. Along with the misrepresented rice and peas, we would suffer the likes of curried chicken – lord knows where they got that from! – random spicy, unrecognisable meats and maybe some sort of ‘exotic’ vegetable. Grated carrots.

   As the world has gotten smaller, through the internet, and more cultural things are known, there has been some improvement with regards to Caribbean cuisine, not much mind you. When even the likes of Jamie Oliver are making missteps with his efforts at Caribbean food with all the resources he has at his disposal, you can only believe it is deliberate and wilful ignorance. 

   Rice and peas is a pretty common dish in a black household. Rice without peas was common growing up. Rice and peas was normally reserved for Sunday dinner, with excess spilling into Monday’s meal. Not all rice and peas are created equal or the same. Even though the term refers to boiled rice mixed with peas or beans, it is not always the same peas. 

  In my household growing up, black-eye peas were probably the most common ones used but on occasion, we would have Gunga peas – easy to get wrong and end feeling like you’re eating bullets! – or red kidney beans or a mix of the three. 

   The peas would always be cooked or semi-cooked first. The rice, American long grain usually, went in afterwards. Add salt and let the water boil away. The peas or beans would colour the rice, giving it a pale brown or pink/brown colour. Beautiful. 

    The perfect accompaniment to poultry, meat or fish, rice and peas for black people is like pasta for Italians. No green peas!