Mother Knows Rice Best

For executive chef Matt Carpenter, Mom’s Peas and Rice is part homage to his mother, part …

For executive chef Matt Carpenter, Mom’s Peas and Rice is part homage to his mother, part traditional, homestyle Caribbean cooking. It’s a side dish that attracts customers to Chef Matt’s Jerk Chicken, the second best-selling entrée at Bin 8945 Wine Bar and Bistro in West Hollywood, Calif.

The pilaf-style dish consists of U.S.-grown, long-grain domestic jasmine rice sauteed in rendered apple wood-smoked bacon and simmered with pigeon peas and equal parts of vegetable stock and coconut milk. The recipe is similar to his mother’s. “It has a very subtle taste,” says Carpenter. “The jerk chicken is very spicy, so this helps cool the palate.”

Carpenter, born in Los Angeles of Bahamian, Jamaican and Cuban stock, enjoys crafting dishes that reflect his heritage as well as modern European bistro fare. “It’s gratifying to put a homestyle dish in the spotlight,” he says. “And for your Mom to let you call it that, it must be good.”