Thu 15 Sep 2011
I recently picked up a new cookbook, Viva Vegan! Though we aren’t vegan we are mostly vegetarian so I thought this book would help me make veggie versions of my favorite Latin dishes. I was right! This is an exceptional cookbook and everything I’ve made in it thus far has been phenomenal. With some weekend prep I was able to put together this version of arroz con pollo in about 40 minutes. This recipes uses sofrito, a mixture of sauteed green peppers, onions & garlic. If you are making the sofrito along with this dish it will take a little longer (20 min or so). You can also prepare the sofrito ahead of time or just buy some. It comes both frozen & in jars. I can never bring myself to buy the jarred version because it contains preservatives. I cannot remember if the frozen variety includes preservatives or not. Don’t like seitan but do like chicken? Just replace the seitan with 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
| Arroz con Seitan |
- 12 oz seitan, cut into strips
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Large pinch oregano
- 1 cup sofrito
- 2/3 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup Mexican beer (e.g. Corona)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
- 1 1/4 cups water or veggie broth
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame or peas
- 1 carrot, diced small
- 1/3 cup green olives, sliced
- 1/4 cup capers, drained
- 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
- Marinate seitan in lime juice, olive oil & oregano for 10 minutes. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat, lightly oil skillet, and sear seitan strips for 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
- Add sofrito to pan to reheat. Add tomatoes, beer, spices and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add rice water (or broth), edamame (or peas) and carrot. Bring to a boil. Push seitan strips into mixture then sprinkle top with green olives & capers.
- Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until rice is cooked. Fluff rice and mix in minced cilantro.
To make sofrito: Combine 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 5 minced cloves garlic in your skillet over medium heat. Sauté until garlic begins to release its fragrance (approximately 30 seconds). Add 1/2 cup diced yellow onion and 1/2 cup diced green pepper to pan. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft and juice, approximately 15 minutes.
