I FINALLY got around to making a dish from a vegan cookbook I bought a few months ago, The Conscious Cook, by Tal Ronnen. I'm not vegetarian or vegan by any means, but I respect the lifestyles and am intrigued by the recipes. Reason why I haven't made anything from this cookbook yet is the prep and ingredients. Most of the recipes I'd say require a reasonable amount of work which I unfortunately don't have too much of nowadays. Luckily, Meg from
Runner's Kitchen was totes down for making this.
Vegan Paella
Adapted from Tal Ronnen's
The Conscious Cook
Serves 7-8
ingredients for rice
-sea salt, ground
-4 tbsp, extra virgin olive oil
-1 red onion, diced
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tbsp italian parsley, chopped
-2 tomatoes, diced
-1 red bell pepper, diced
-1 green bell pepper, diced
-1 1/2 c medium grain rice
-4 cups vegetable stock (we used
Pacific Organic Vegetable Broth...LOVE this stuff)
-pinch of saffron
-1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
ingredients for topping
-sea salt, freshly ground
-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-3
Field Roast Italian Style seitan sausages, cut on bias into 1/4" thickness
-2 lbs, oyster mushrooms
-1 (14 oz.) can of artichoke hearts, quartered and drained
-1/2 c white wine
-juice of 1 lemon
-1/2 c thawed frozen peas
-1 lemon, cut into wedges
-1/2 fresh baked french baguette, sliced
Making the rice...
Start with a large (>12" or a paella pan, ideally) and place over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of the oil and heat for about 30 seconds.
sofrito
Saute onion, garlic, and parsley for 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Add diced tomatoes and a little water. Cook for about 10 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and the sofrito is thick. Transfer to a bowl and wipe pan clean.
all mixed in
Place pan back over medium heat, add 2 tbsp of oil and saute the peppers for about 5 minutes. Add the sofrito mixture that was set aside and the rice. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add vegetable stock, saffron, 1 tsp salt, and pepper. Mix well and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cook for 10 minutes. Turn heat down to simmer and continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes.
meg preparing the mise en place
Making toppings...
Take another saute pan and place over medium heat. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and saute the sausage until browned and crisp on both sides. Transfer to bowl and wipe pan clean.
Place pan over medium heat again and place 1 tbsp of oil. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Saute the oyster mushrooms until the water has evaporated and slightly browned, about 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl and wipe pan clean.
Once more, place pan over medium heat with 1 tbsp of oil. Saute the artichoke hearts. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for about 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add wine and cook about 10 minutes until evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
Increase the heat of the rice pan to high and cook for 3 minutes to get the rice to crisp on the bottom. Remove from heat.
Scatter peas across the top of the rice and cover with foil. Leave for 5 minutes.
Remove foil and arrange the toppings over the rice: sausage, mushrooms, and artichokes.
Serve with lemon wedges and baguette slices.
beautiful, finished end result
oh, foodies...
Check out
Runner's Kitchen for more pictures!
