Plant Based Paella

Isn't this beautiful? I made it for dinner the other night!!

Paella is to Spain what spaghetti is to Italy! 

While visiting Barcelona this past May, we marveled at the different varieties of paella offered throughout the city. Of course, the only paella I tasted was the plant-based paella that we found in just a few restaurants. It was delicious, and I wanted to make it now that I'm home. This is an update of my previous recipe. 

Paella feeds a crowd. Since I was having a dinner party for nine adults Friday night, I decided to make it! The plant-based version contains a variety of delicious vegetables, short grain rice, and something I rarely use anymore--- plant-based meat alternatives (because of the ridiculously high fat content). 

However, since none of my guests were vegetarian and most were accustomed to meat or chicken, I felt I needed to add something a little heartier to my recipe than just vegetables ( vegan sausage was the suggestion of my friend Helaine).

The Beyond Meat plant-based hot sausage did not disappoint. In fact, it took this recipe to the next level as far as taste. 

I had purchased a large wide deep skillet that was similar to a paella pan (at half the price), and it worked perfectly, looked fabulous, and acted as my serving dish as well! 

When I was a young bride, I was gifted a cookbook that contained a recipe titled,  poor man's soup. It was basically a bean soup. Since my paella recipe is minus the seafood, I thought I would call this recipe Poor Man's Paella, but then I realized that in today's market vegetables such as artichokes and red peppers, spices, and plant based food alternatives such as the Beyond Meat Sausage are not cheap either! 

Author: Judee Algazi

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes + 10 minutes for the sausage

Serves: 10

Ingredients: 

2 cups of chopped onion 

2 cups of chopped tomato

4 cloves of garlic chopped or pressed

1/4 teaspoon paprika 

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric (or saffron if you have some)

1/2 cup marinara sauce

1 pint of mushrooms, washed and sliced

1 cup of a mixture of black and green olives, sliced

3 cups of short grain rice such as Arborio Rice

1 cup water

5-6 cups vegetable broth

1 red pepper, seeded and sliced in strips

1 can of artichoke quarters in water, drained

12 green beans, washed and stems removed (or use frozen) 

1 package of Beyond Meat Plant-based Hot Italian Sausage (4 links)

Salt and cracked pepper to taste

Optional: fresh lime wedges to decorate

Directions: 

In a small skillet, cook the sausage on a low flame until soft and heated. When done, set aside. 

Add onions, tomato, garlic, paprika, turmeric and marinara sauce to a large deep wide skillet. Begin to sauté the vegetables, stirring and adding 1/4 cup of vegetable broth if needed to prevent burning. Sauté for 5 minutes until onion is soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms, olives, rice, vegetable broth, and water in that order. (make sure the rice is covered or add more liquid) Arrange the red pepper strips and green beans on the top in a circular direction, cover and cook on a low heat for about 25 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is swollen and soft. When done cooking, arrange the artichoke quarters over the rice cover and slice the sausages into bite-size rounds and place over the top of the rice. Serve while hot. 

My Notes: 

1. The vegetables (mushrooms, peppers, green beans, onions, and tomatoes) can be washed and cut up the night before so you can just assemble the day of cooking to make it much less time consuming. 

2. A paella pan can easily cost between $40 - $80 or more. A large wide deep skillet was available at Home Goods for $20, and it worked well. 

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1. Misinformation about the State of Israel 

For those who think that Israel has no right to exist; and that they are not the indigenous people of the land.

 2.  Misinformation 2- Israel is an apartheid state- watch this 1 minute video to see how the 2 million Israeli Arabs live great lives in Israel and why they prosper in Israel and are not protesting against Israel because they know that they have a better life than in Arab lands!! They actually live in a democracy!!

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