The Runner's Kitchen

Well, hello vegetables. I’ve missed you! After a few days of sweets, I was craving a healthy dinner. My foodie friend Brian and I teamed up to make a vegan paella recipe from Tal Ronnen’s The Conscious Cook. And when I say “teamed up”, I really mean that Brian did most of the work whilst I drank diet coke and maybe washed some parsley…but I digress.

This was a fun recipe, but the prep work was rather involved – save this for a day when you have some extra time!

Paella with vegan sausage, oyster mushrooms, and wine-braised artichokes

Ingredients

For the rice:

• sea salt
• 4 Tbs Evoo
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 1.5 cups medium grain rice
• 4 cups vegetable stock (we recommend Pacific Brand)
• pinch of saffron threads
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

For the toppings:

• sea salt
• 3 Tbs Evoo
• 3 Field Roast Italian-style seitan sausages, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
• 2 lbs oyster mushrooms
• freshly ground pepper
• 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
• Lemon wedges

Directions:

• Place a large saute pan over medium heat, sprinkle bottom with a pinch of salt, and heat for 1 minute. Add 2 Tbs oil and heat for 30 seconds – this will create a nonstick effect on the pan.
• Add the onion, garlic, and parsley and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and a splash of water and cook until liquid is evaporated, and mixture is thick like jam, about 10 minutes. Transfer sofrito to a bowl and wipe the pan clean.
• Return pan to medium heat, add remaining 2 Tbs of oil, and saute peppers for 5 minutes.
• Return the sofrito to the pan, along with the rice. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the stock, saffron, tsp salt, and pepper. Stir well, bring to a boil and cook, uncovered for 10 minutes without stirring. Lower the heat to summer and continue cooking, uncovered and without stirring for 15 more minutes.
• Place a medium saute pan over medium heat, sprinkle bottom with salt, and heat for 1 minute. Add 1 Tbs oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add sausage and cook for about 5 minutes – until crisp on both sides. Remove to a plate and wipe the pan clean.
• Return pan to medium heat, add 1 Tbs oil and mushrooms, and saute, seasoning with salt and pepper (to taste), until they have released their liquid and are browned nicely. Remove from the pan, set aside, and wipe the pan clean.
• Return the pan to medium heat, add remaining Tbs oil, add artichoke hearts and saute until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook until it has almost completely evaporated, 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
• Increase the heat under the rice mixture to hight and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until you smell the rice toasting on the bottom. Remove from heat.
• Sprinkle the peas on top, cover the pan with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Remove the foil and scatter the sausage, mushrooms, and artichokes over the top. Serve with lemon wedges.

Yum! Usually I shy away from labor-intense recipes, but this was definitely worth it. The flavor of the dish was very complex – I loved the addition of oyster mushrooms! You could easily mistake them for actual seafood.

This meal left me well fueled for a team workout in Central Park. I warmed up for 2.75 miles and then tackled the workout. The assignment was: 1 mile @ 5k pace, 1/2 mile recovery, 1.5 miles @ 10k pace, 1/2 mile recovery, 1 mile @ 5k pace. It was a tough workout, but I felt strong throughout. I was mighty thirsty though. On our cool-down we stopped at a water fountain and I must have gulped a 1/2 gallon of H2O! I’m not sure what my running plans for the weekend hold (romantic beach get-away with my college roommates, woo), so I made Thursday a high-mileage day. Hello 5+ mile cool-down…

Question: Have you ever made or eaten paella? What’s the most labor intensive dish you’ve ever cooked?