one filipino dish a week

Tonight I had an excellent dinner prepared by T. This is the first vegetarian paella I’ve had and it was fantastic! We bought a paella pan the other week and wanted to try it as soon as we could. This isn’t a traditional paella since there’s no meat but this was fantastic. Growing up I remember eating paella only on special occasions and it always had seafood. We’ll have to just to revisit paella in the future and cook the different versions.

This had fantastic flavor and texture. The contrast of the rice and crunchy cashews, the taste of the olives, bell peppers and the spice from the chili powder were great. Here’s how she made it…there’s an overwhelming amount of ingredients but don’t be afraid that’s why it tastes good.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 red onion
2/3 cup risotto rice
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
pitted black olives
1 large tomato seeded and diced
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup unsalted cashew nuts
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp chopped parsley
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat the olive oil and melt butter over medium-high heat
2. Add the onion and saute until softened
3. Stir in rice, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, garlic, peppers, black olives, and tomato over medium-high heat
4. Pour in stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and let cook for 20 minutes. Don’t forget to stir constantly or the rice will stick
5. Add the cashews and peas and cook until the peas have defrosted and soft but not mush. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, parsley.
6. Transfer to plate, garnish, eat!

The paella had a nice kick in spice with it from the chili powder and paprika. So it was perfectly paired with the cucumber dill salad in sour cream to tame the fire. Very simple to make. Cut up cucumbers into thin slices, chop some dill, and sour cream (or creme fraiche).