Who says you can’t turn out a healthy and flavorful meal in less than 20 minutes?  I saw this idea in Sunset magazine and thought the mellow tastes of corn and tarragon would pair well with white fish. I like tilapia because it is a sustainable fish, it’s exceedingly frugal and has a firm white flesh. Tilapia farmed in the  USA or Central America is eco-friendly and uber healthy, so buy tons when it’s on sale and keep a few fillets stashed in your freezer.

To learn about sustainable fish issues, I like the Seafood Watch Site, and you can even doanload a Pocket Guide to eating sustainable fish in your area!

We love tilapia here at FFF, and we’ve featured it before in a Spice Rubbed Tilapia and Tilapia with Sopes and Raw Corn Salad.

With this new tilapia recipe, all you need to add is some crusty French bread and a salad – what-the-heck, you can even use the bagged stuff with a little vinaigrette – and Voila! – dinner is still less than 20 minutes from grocery bag to table!

TILAPIA WITH TARRAGON AND SWEET CORN SAUCE

Total prep and cook time 20 minutes – Serves four

4 tillapia fillets
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, diced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, divided, plus a little extra for garnish
3 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon, divided, plus more leaves for garnish
1 cup half and half
A few dashes Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat a large skillet to medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and then add two fillets to pan. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown on bottom. Turn over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Place fillets on a baking sheet. Saute the other two fillets in the same way and place them on the baking sheet. Place fillets in oven for 5 minutes while you’re finishing the sauce.

Cook shallots until translucent, about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add corn and cook another 3 to 5 minutes, until corn is lightly browned. Add half and half to pan and stir, scraping up bits from bottom of pan. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is reduced slightly. Add in minced tarragon, Tabasco and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Plate immediately, spooning sauce on to plate and then add fillets. Add tarragon leaves and come of corn as a garnish. Serve immediately.

Other food bloggers’ tilapia recipes that look fabulous (this was HARD – there are so many great recipes out there in the blogosphere!):
Baked Tilapia with Veggies and Feta, Kalyn’s Kitchen
Tilapia with Pimento Sauce, Simply Recipes
Foil Packet Tilapia, A Year of Slow Cooking
Tilapia with Almonds, Fearless Kitchen
Tilapia Tacos, Framed
Tilapia Tostadas, What’s Cooking?
Tilapia and Green Tea Noodles, Slash Food

– posted by Donna

One of the ultimate comfort foods – slowly simmered stuffed cabbage rolls – has the power to take me back to the early 80’s  when I was a new bride learning to cook for my little family. So, I wondered if I could make a more enlightened vegetarian version that was just as tasty and comforting for Meatless Monday.

Cabbage seems like it was invented for making cabbage rolls – they have a perfect taste and texture for these. And a huge bonus: cabbage is packed with nutrients. Cabbage is one of the most versatile cruciferous veggies. We use it in so many strikingly different ways and transform it into so many different substances: raw cabbage in slaws, boiled cabbage with sausages, pickled for sauerkraut, and on and on . . . .

The secret to the success of this recipe is in the braising: I used a rich vegetable broth ( I like Kitchen Basics vegetable stock) with a little vinegar and brown sugar and My, Oh My! did my house smell yummy! These turned out glorious: sweet and tart and flavorful – they just melt in your mouth!  I promise you won’t miss the meat – not even a little bit!

Rolling stuffing into cabbage leaves

Simmer rolls in a single layer - a Dutch oven works great!

BRAISED CABBAGE ROLLS

Serves 4 to 6; Prep and cooking time 60 minutes

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large shallot, diced
6 cloves garlic, divided
4 cups vegetable broth, divided
1/2 cup lentils
1 cup rice
4 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1 teaspoon cumin
1 large head cabbage (I used savoy cabbage)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

Saute the shallot in 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Mince 3 cloves of garlic and add in and simmer for another minute. Add in 2 cups of broth and lentils and simmer for 5 minutes. Add rice,  2 tablespoons of soy sauce and cumin, lower heat and cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.

While mixture is simmering, steam cabbage leaves for about 2 or 3 minutes, until softened. Remove from heat and shock leaves in cold water. Cut the tough stem out at bottom center of each leaf.

Roll 1/2 cup of mixture in each blanched leaf, jelly roll style, tucking sides in as you go. Place seam-side down in a large pan so that rolls are all in a single layer, completely filling pan. Stir vinegar and brown sugar into remaining 2 cups of vegetable stock and pour over rolls in pan so that they are almost covered, adding a little water if necessary. Simmer for about 30 minutes until leaves are soft and most of liquid has evaporated.

While rolls are simmering, cut red peppers into strips and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees at top of oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, until softened and browned. Add remaining garlic cloves to baking sheet for the last five minutes of cooking time.

Blend in blender the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, red pepper strips, garlic cloves, remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, Balsamic vinegar and tomato paste until very smooth.

Remove rolls from liquid and serve on a platter with red pepper sauce drizzled on top.

Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen inspired me on her recent Blogher post about Stuffed Cabbage. Thanks, Kalyn!

Other veggie cabbage rolls out there:
Wild Rice Cabbage Rolls, Seasonal Ontario Food
Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls, Not Eating Out in New York
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls – Not Like Grandmas, Ginger Beat
Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls, Where’s the Beef?

– posted by Donna

I received this entreaty from reader and friend Danielle:

I went hunting on fab frugal for cabbage recipes. At 59 cents per pound green cabbage is the cheapest produce going at the grocery store and yet nothing on the site? What’s up with that? I already know how to do red- so don’t re-direct me there. I am still suffering post traumatic stress from Cabbage and Potatoes with Polish Sausage Night when I was a kid. So- no boiling, please! Any ideas?

Danielle makes a fine point, as we do have a lovely braised RED cabbage recipe but nothing green. Cabbage really is a fantastic frugal produce choice, as well as being chock full o’ vitamins, fiber and important minerals. <— And look, even the picture in that link underscores its economical oomph, at 4 pounds for a dollar! (Where is THAT farmer’s market? Sign me up!)

Anyway, I adapted this from the Cooking Light and thought it was lovely. It’s also beyond simple.

GREEN CABBAGE WITH CUCUMBER AND CARAWAY

1 large green cabbage, shredded
1 english cucumber, diced (no need to peel)
6 scallions, thinly sliced
2-3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup white wine vinegar

Heat large nonstick pan over medium. Add everything but the white wine vinegar. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar, cook another 2 minutes.

Other cabbage delights:

Napa and Red Cabbage Salad from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Purple Cabbage and Sweet Potato Soup from Gluten-Free Goddess
Stir-Fried Napa Cabbage from Rasamalaysia
Roasted Cabbage with Bacon from The Kitchn
Mushroom Barley Soup with Cannelini Beans and Cabbage from Fat Free Vegan

– posted by Anne

Some vegetarian versions of classic dishes are BETTER than the originals. Case in point: Stroganoff.

Sour cream, sauteed onions, beef strips – Okay, sounds like a good combo, right? But the problem is that the meat (back in the day when I was eating beef) was always rubbery and tough and the only taste in the dish was the sour cream sauce. I have tried making a veggie version of stroganoff numerous times over the years, but the veggies were always limp and watery and slimy.

Use a combination of Cremini, Shitake and Oyster Mushrooms

Then it hit me: ROAST the veggies! And by veggies, I mean MUSHROOMS. And lots of them in different varieties. Then add the mushrooms to the sauce at the very last minute so they’re not soggy and slimy.

Our FFF Meatless Monday pledge made me determined to try again!

This works perfectly! If you’ve always disliked Stroganoff, give this recipe a try and you will be a convert like me.

The mushroom experts will tell you that mushrooms are one of the healthiest things you can put into your mouth – they are anti-cancer power foods! Hooooo-ray for mushrooms!

ROASTED MUSHROOM MEDLEY STROGANOFF

Serves 4 to 6 – 30 minutes prep time

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 yellow onions, cut in julienne strips
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour (use rice flour if you’re cooking gluten-free)
2 cups dark vegetable stock (I used Kitchen Basics Vegetable Cooking Stock)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 pound cremini mushrooms
8 ounces oyster mushrooms
8 ounces shitake or maitake mushrooms
Freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves or parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (400 degrees convection if you have that option).

Slice mushrooms into 1/4 inch slices and toss in 2 tablespoons of oil. Spread on a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at top of oven for about 8 to 10 minutes, until mushrooms are softened and lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.

Roasted mushrooms on a baking sheet

Cook onions strips in remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and brown sugar over medium heat in a large skillet until browned and softened. Stir in flour until absorbed, about 1 minute. Stir in stock, vinegar and soy sauce and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently until liquid is thickened and reduced in half. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, thyme or parsley flakes and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Adding soy sauce to Stroganoff sauce adds richness

Spoon over rice or pasta on a serving platter and serve immediately.

NOTE: I liked this food blogger’s version, too: Mushroom Tofu Stroganoff, Food Happens

– posted by Donna

We were all thrilled to see Bode Miller on the platform at the Olympics, but did you know we have another reason to applaud him? Miller is a sustainable eating advocate, an organic farmer and lifelong vegetarian!

Michael Pollan’s recent interview on NPR was both entertaining and enlightening: Just one favorite quote: “It’s not food if it arrives through the window of your car.” This got me thinking.  . . Is good, healthy, sustainable eating a luxury only for the upper middle class and the rich, or is it something we all can achieve?

That we should be eating home-cooked sustainable food is, in my humble opinion, a no-brainer. For everyone. Consider these Top Ten Reasons: 1.) It’s cheaper; 2.) It’s safer; 3.) It’s healthier; 4.) It tastes better; 5.) It tastes like you want it to; 6.) It’s satisfying; 7.) It makes reducing meat consumption easier; 8.) It’s a gift to future generations; 9.) It will enrich your life; and 10.) It will make a statement.

But, in the end, it is like many things: It’s a matter of degree. It’s a matter of taking steps in the right direction. It’s a matter of changing the way you do things slowly but surely.

So, here are my thoughts on how to eat more sustainably on a budget.

1)  BUY ONLY WHAT YOU NEED AND USE WHAT YOU BUY.

I can’t tell you how many times I have bought, say, a bunch of carrots instead of only the two carrots I needed because the bunch was a good deal, and then wound up throwing most of the carrots out. Don’t go for the “bargain” if you’re not going to use it all. Buy the two carrots at a slightly higher cost, but save money and be less wasteful in the long run.

2)  THE FREEZER IS YOUR FRIEND.

It is about the same work to double a recipe and freeze the extra as it is to make one dish. If you do have dishes stashed away, you’ll be much less likely to spend four times as much on a restaurant meal at the end of a stress-filled day. And, freezing things when they are low cost – such as seasonal fruit – is super easy and efficient with one of my favorite culinary inventions: zip top bags! It is such a delight to go to my freezer and take out a pint of Strawberry Lemon Zest Freezer Jam in the middle of February- instant springtime in your mouth ! – and one-third the cost of nasty-tasting store bought cooked strawberry jam. Buying a full sized freezer is the best money I have ever spent.

3)  GROW YOUR OWN.

Now is the perfect time to plan a spring garden. We started gardening in a major way two years ago, and I have been surprised at how much we save and how much fun it has been to grow vegetables. Michale Pollan said that for every $1 you spend on your garden, you get $10 dollars worth of grocery-store priced produce. Wow! This is the most amazing rate of return on your money that exists today!!!

4)  MAKE YOUR OWN.

The cost savings on making your own continually astound me, and benefit the environment by eliminating packaging, trucking, etc. I made crackers recently and they cost about 30 cents when the same amount would have cost at least $3 in the store – 10 times more. Even a math-impaired person such as myself can do those numbers!

5) YOU CAN FEEL GOOD SAVING THE PLANET – ONE FORKFUL AT A TIME.

Eating sustainably makes a difference – more than almost anything we can do as individuals to help our planet – more than driving a fusion car; more than recycling newspapers, more than changing our light bulbs, more than all of these things combined.

Eat your veggies! Make it from Scratch! Share your Bounty!  Our grandmas would be proud!

– posted by Donna

Astonish your family with this recipe! Have them try to guess the secret ingredient – I promise it will take them quite a while, if they ever get it at all. Just looking at the picture, can YOU guess what it is? I had the pleasure of trying a version of these at a friend’s house last week, and of course couldn’t wait to share it with you here. It’s perfect for gluten-free folks, or for those simply looking to decrease the starch and increase the healthy, fibrous protein in their diets. I haven’t tried making it with a sugar substitute yet, but if you did, it would be a PERFECT low-carb dessert (omitting the chocolate chips, perhaps substituting some pecans or walnuts). Like, award-winning, I daresay. I’m going to have to try this soon, actually – I’ll report back!

Have you guessed yet? Okay, without further ado, I present . . .

BLACK BEAN BROWNIES

1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and spray an 8×8 square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the black beans, eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, sugar, and instant coffee in a high-speed blender or food processor; blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into the  baking dish. Sprinkle half the white chocolate chips over the top of the mixture.Bake about 30 minutes, until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool. Melt remaining white chocolate chips and drizzle over the top. Amaze your friends.

Other yummy gluten-free brownie recipes:

Tofu au Vin? Really? Tofu? you say. You’ll have to trust us on this one: it’s  saucy, savory and vegalicious! There is something about slowly simmering wine that makes things taste incredible. I swear you could simmer shoe leather in wine and aromatics all day and serve it up as a hip new entree: Lethre au Vin!

To replicate the amazing slow-braised taste of the classic French dish Coq au Vin I slowly simmered onions and carrot and garlic in vegetable broth and wine, and to replace the meat I used chopped mushrooms and tofu chunks.  Alton Brown’s dish Coq au Vin takes 4 hours. Julia Child’s iconic version takes about an hour. Our healthier, greener tofu version – just 30 minutes! I just love Meatless Mondays!

Why Tofu? We at FFF love tofu so much, we even wrote a Tofu Cookbook! Did you know that Tofu is the most commonly eaten legume in the world? And – no wonder: it is a frugal source of high-quality protein and one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. In this dish tofu just makes sense – the mild creamy texture and taste of tofu are a perfect match – similar to chunks of chicken – for the strong tangy flavorful wine sauce. We promise you won’t miss the meat!

Cut the mushrooms into chuncks, not slices

Simmer the veggies in broth and wine

TOFU AU VIN

4 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 cups frozen pearl onions
3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
3 cups red wine, such as Merlot or Beaujolais**
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1 14-ounce package extra firm tofu
4 tablespoons corn starch, divided
12 ounces mushrooms, chopped
Salt and pepper, used throughout
1/2 cup diced Italian parsley as a garnish

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan to medium high heat. Add in onions, carrots and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add in bay leaves, wine, broth and soy sauce and reduce heat so that liquid is slowly simmering. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to help sauce reduce, until carrots and onions are soft and liquid is reduced in half. Once sauce is reduced, taste and add salt and/or pepper to taste. Stir 2 tablespoons cornstarch into 1/2 cup of water and then stir in to pan to thicken sauce.

While sauce is simmering, rinse and cut tofu into 1/2 inch cubes. Toss cubes in 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch and a little salt and pepper until they are all evenly coated. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Saute coated tofu cubes for about 3 to 5 minutes, turning them occasionally with a spatula so that they are crispy browned on almost all the sides. Remove to a serving bowl. Add mushrooms to pan and saute them until browned and softened.

Stir everything together with tofu cubes in serving bowl, sprinkle with parsley and serve with rice or noodles.

** If you don’t use wine in cooking or you want an even more frugal version of this recipe, substitute 3 cups dark vegetable broth mixed with 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar.

Other food bloggers’ adventures with tofu:
Baked Tofu, Apartment Therapy
Baked Tofu with Soy and Ginger, Kalyn’s Kitchen
Tofu Puff, Rasa Maylaysia
Scrambled Tofu, Serious Eats
Ma Po Tofu, Bitten

– posted by Donna

In lieu of our usual FFF tips, we wanted to share this with y’all: Donna, Anne and Anne’s daughter Lily posed with lucky reader Syrell with her brand-new Cadillac of the kitchen! She just so happens to live nearby (we have a lot of Utah readers), and thought she might as well pick it up in person.

Congratulations again, Syrell! Stop by FFF once in awhile and let us know what masterpieces you are whipping up with this amazing mixer!

I am a Rocky Mountain girl, so have never ventured much into Cajun cuisine. But, what the heck – it’s Fat Tuesday, the first day of Mardi Gras! I decided to look to one of my favorite chef/food megastars, John Besh, for inspiration and a basic know-how and I set out to make gumbo for the first time in my life. In honor of the festive season, I bought myself a cookbook. (( Isn’t this what all foodies do to celebrate?))  Anyway, if you haven’t seen it – check out this work-of-art cookbook/journal of cajun culture and cuisine: “My New Orleans: The Cookbook.” I couldn’t put it down and read it just like a lonely housewife reading a romance novel! Highly recommend it for your Mardi Gras splurge! I followed Chef Besh’s methods but changed the ingredients up a bit.

Anne, my amazing daughter/co-blogger, and the curly headed Miss Lily are here and they eat gluten-free, so I entered another new culinary frontier: gluten-free roux. I substituted rice flour for the usual all-purpose wheat and the roux still thickened and turned a deep mahogany brown. BTW, if you’ve never made a dark roux, learn from my mistake: Unless your house is on fire or someone is bleeding or unconscious, DO NOT leave your roux unattended. It may look okay, it may even look light brown on top, but if you don’t stir it frequently, it WILL burn on the bottom. Trust me.

I added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, something my Grandma always did. Maybe it’s just a retro comfort thing for me, but I swear it adds depth and a mellow flavor to soups. Try it when you make your next homemade soup and test me out. Or test my Grandma – she won’t mind. She’s somewhere making celestial soup now!

Oh, and, Okay, NEWS FLASH for Chef Besh, if you’re reading this: No one has rendered chicken fat on hand. NO ONE. But I think peanut or canola oil, with their high smoke points, work well getting the roux to a nice brown without burning. Who wants to render chicken fat, anyway? Sheesh! And c’mon, no grocery store carries duck these days – but luckily the dark meat of chicken thighs is a whole lot more practical and much more frugal.

GLUTEN-FREE CHICKEN THIGH AND ANDOUILLE GUMBO

This recipe makes a HUGE batch!
Serves 10 to 12; Prep and cook time 2 and 1/2 hours

1 cup peanut or canola oil, divided
2 medium yellow onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
6 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
1 cup rice flour
10 cups chicken broth
8 ounces Andouille sausage, or other spicy smoked sausage
2 cups fresh or frozen okra, sliced into 1/2 inch chunks
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon file powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Louisiana hot sauce, or cayenne pepper sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat over medium high heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large heavy bottomed Dutch oven or large stockpot. Place chicken in pan and saute about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown on both sides. Remove chicken and set aside.

Pour remaining oil into pan. Slowly whisk in rice flour. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, whisking frequently so as not to burn. Simmer slowly for about 10 to 12 minutes, whisking frequently until roux is a medium  brown. Stir in diced onions and continue to cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently until onions are translucent. Stir in celery and bell pepper. Slowly whisk in the broth. Return the chicken to the pot. Lower heat to lowest setting and cover and slowly simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally to make sure bottom is not burning.

Add in Andouille sausage, okra, Worcestershire sauce, file, paprika, honey and hot sauce. Cover and slowly simmer again for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, add vinegar and salt and pepper to taste and serve as is or over rice.

Other gumbos worth checking out:

Sweet Potato, Okra and Chick Pea Gumbo, Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
Beginner and Expert Gumbo, Yum Sugar
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, Homesick Texan

And – you’re not going to believe who serves up a delicious VEGAN gumbo: DISNEYLAND!
No, I am NOT making this up! Three Cheers for Mickey!

– posted by Donna

Boy, do we have a treat for you today. I (Anne) am currently in town visiting Donna, and as is our habit, we’re cooking up a storm. Sunday dinners are always some of the best blowouts, and given that today was also Valentine’s Day, with a good crowd coming over to boot, we wanted to go all out. We were already planning on Donna’s My Heart Beets For You salad, plus the glorious Julia Child chocolate almond masterpiece for dessert, but what to do for an entree?

I suggested artichoke hearts, in keeping with the Valentine holiday spirit, and then came around to the paella plan for this week’s Meatless Monday. We decided to combine two approaches: the first was from The Perfect Pantry – we loved the combination of veggies (featuring artichoke hearts) as well as the spicy garlic finishing sauce. We also really like Mark Bittman’s approach to vegetarian paella, as featured in “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian”, wherein the vegetables are not cooked into the rice mixture stovetop but later roasted on top of the rice in the oven – the juices from the vegetables drip down into the rice mixture and get nice caramelization to boot. The pan is then returned to the stovetop to finish, creating the lovely crust on the bottom that is known as “soccarat”.

So we married the two approaches and tweaked it with a few of our own touches as we went. The result was pretty magnificent, if I dare say so myself. If you think paella is incomplete without an assortment of meats, we implore you to give this a try.

PAELLA PRIMAVERA

6 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups Spanish Bomba rice, or Arborio (risotto) rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (or more for desired color)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 medium zucchini, cut into half-moons
2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
1/2  jalapeño, finely chopped (reserve the rest fir the sauce)
6 frozen artichoke hearts, quartered
6 large shiitake or baby bella mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
8 medium scallions,chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 cups coarsely chopped spinach leaves
3 strips roasted red pepper, sliced lengthwise, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 450. Heat vegetable broth in a saucepan to just under a boil, then reduce to a simmer, add saffron. Heat oil in a paella pan or a very large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, then add garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until just starting to soften. Add rice and stir well until all grains are coated with oil. Add the splash of wine and stir until absorbed. Ladle by ladle, add stock and stir until each addition is absorbed. Continue until rice is cooked through but still firm and with just a touch of a ‘bite’. Add spices, using a bit more turmeric if a deeper yellow is desired. Taste and add more salt if desired.

Layer zucchini, red pepper, jalapeno, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, peas, scallions and tomato over the top of the rice mixture (do not stir in). Roast for about 15 minutes, until vegetables have started to brown. Remove from oven, stir vegetables and rice together, adding spinach and parsley. Return to stovetop and cook over medium-high heat for just about 5 minutes to create the crunchy crust on the bottom (don’t stir, just keep an eye on it). Let rest for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with red pepper strips (and asparagus too, if you happen to have some handy from another dish, as we did) and serve from the paella pan or skillet, spooning sauce over each serving.

SPICY GARLIC FINISHING SAUCE

1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2  jalapeño, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or 1/4 tsp dried
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/2 cup olive oil

Puree the peppers, cumin, salt, garlic, thyme, oregano, and half the oil and parsley. Stir in the remaining oil and parsley. Transfer to a serving dish.

– posted by Donna and Anne