Rinse off the kidney beans then soak them in the water overnight in a medium sized saucepan
Bring the peas to a boil along with the scallion, garlic, ginger, thyme and onion (you should be starting with 4 cups of water).
Half cover the pot, reduce the heat and simmer on low for 1 hour (check the readiness of the peas, use your fingers, they should be easy to crush/soft) if not simmer for a further 15 minutes.
Once cooked discard the piece of ginger and thyme stems
Check your water levels, there should be 1 ½ cups of water left in the saucepan, you should be able to see the peas. Even if you need to drain off the water to make sure you have the amount of water stated. Do it! **this is very important*
Add the scotch bonnet, dairy free butter, coconut milk, pink salt and rice to the pot.
I also add a clump of creamed coconut too.
Bring the pot to a boil then fold the rice in so everything is combined.
Add ½ cup of coconut milk or water (if required)
Then cover the pot with saran wrap/foil (leaving a gap for air to escape then cover with the lid
Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes (check and fold the rice nearer to the finish time. It should be soft and fluffy, if it still grainy add a splash of water and leave to simmer for another 5-10 minutes)
Discard the scotch bonnet, and pimento berries prior to serving