VeganMoFo Day 30 - Basque Paella

For the final recipe of VeganMoFo 2013 I've chosen another new-to-me recipe from Mary McDougall.

Basque Paella
SERVINGS: 8
PREPARATION TIME: 30 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 40 MINUTES

1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup water  
1 onion, chopped  
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
2 small red potatoes, sliced
1 small tomato, chopped
2 cups hot Vegetable Broth 
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground oregano
Pinch of powdered saffron
1 small can water-packed artichoke hearts (about 6), cut in half
1 cup frozen peas

Place the rice and boiling water in a bowl. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Pour off the water and set aside.

Place 1/4 cup water in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat about 2 minutes, until the onion softens. 

Add the bell peppers, potatoes, and tomato. Cook and stir for another 3 minutes.

Add the rice and hot broth. Bring to a boil. Stir in the soy sauce, oregano, and saffron. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. 

Add the artichokes and peas. Cook for another 5 minutes

The McDougall Program for A Healthy Heart
John McDougall, M.D. and Mary McDougall
(1996), ISBN: 0-452-27266-1 
page 329

Not only had I never tried this recipe, I've never eaten paella, nor have I had artichokes in my life, so it's a new adventure all the way. The only thing I know about paella is that George Costanza's mother made some to feed Jerry Seinfeld's parents when they came up to visit from Florida.

Again, the red and green pepper strips will come from a bag of frozen ones. Ditto the onion and garlic.

I'll concede to using a fresh plum tomato.

The saffron is a problem. I have saffron threads but have never seen powdered in the stores. Out comes the handy dandy mortar and pestle and a'crushing I will go. 

Those are a lot of steps in this recipe, and some I don't understand why, like soaking the rice in the beginning. But, as I said, I've never made or eaten this dish before so I obey all the directions as close as possible.

A few mistakes were made.

I decided to use brown basmati rice. I always said this brand must be mis-labeled, because the rice seems more the texture of white than brown, and this dish could have used the heartier regular long grain brown rice.

My saffron disappeared. I always kept it in the freezer because I rarely use it, maybe twice a year. Two of us tore the freezer apart and couldn't find it, and since the food was already on the stove, there was no time to go shopping for more. I thought of using turmeric, as others on-line suggested, but thought better of it and just skipped it entirely.

The plum tomatoes were horrible so used a regular slicing tomato of a fairly large size.

I added 2 cups of peas instead of one. That wasn't a mistake, but intentional. We love peas.

Not bad. We finished off the entire batch and were satisfied nicely without being over-fed. I have no idea what the saffron could have added to this dish, it was good the way it was. Well, it would have been better with the right rice, but still good as-is. My husband liked it, said it was another keeper.

Tonight I'm remaking the Pea, Potato and Couscous Hash that I made 2 weeks before MoFo started, back when my husband's appetite was nearly non-existent. Tomorrow  I'm making a tried and true favorite he's been asking for, Cuban Potatoes. Then comes a SNAP favorite from Jeff Novick, Simple Everyday Meal. I do have another Esselstyn heart-healthy recipe planned for later this week and if I do make it, I'll write about it.

As for "keepers" from this year's VeganMoFo recipes, there aren't that many. I'll add the Bright Summer Stir Fry, Golden Kanieski Sauce, Potatoes Mexicali, Spinach Rice, Spicy Potato Stew, and Bachelor's Bounty to my list of family favorites. I already mentioned the Mac & Oaty Cheese as possibly my new go-to mac & cheese recipe. My husband has already adopted the Roasted & Rustic Red Pepper Sandwich as his favorite lunch.

And one thing I will never, ever make again is Speedy Vegetable and Bean Soup. We finished up the last of the leftovers the other day, about a cup and a half each with sandwiches, and both of us were running for the bathroom for the rest of the day! Never again!

Thanks for following along, and I hope you enjoyed it. See you next year for VeganMoFo 2014, possibly as early as August. In the meantime, I'll continue to plod along.