Paella Vegetariana

    6 oz Flavored tofu or tofu sausage; up to 8 oz
    2 c  Black beans; cooked, drained
    1    Lemon; juice of
    2 tb Garlic; up to 3 tb, minced
    1    Red pepper; diced
    1 lg Onion; diced
    1 lg Carrot; diced
    1 ts Paprika
  1/2 ts Fennel seed
    1 ts Ground cumin
  1/2 ts Salt
  1/2 ts Black pepper
  1/4 ts Cayenne pepper (optional)
  1/4 ts Saffron threads; crushed
    2 c  Uncooked long grain brown rice
3 1/2 c  Water; boiling
    2    Bay leaves
    1 c  Fresh or frozen green peas
    1 c  Fresh or frozen corn kernels
         Cherry tomatoes; quartered, for garnish
         Parsley or cilantro; chopped, for garnish
         Vegetable stock; for saute-ing

Mix beans with juice of 1 lemon and set aside.

Cut tofu into bite-sized pieces and set aside.  

Heat 1 to 2 tb of vegetable broth in a pot. Add garlic and saute for
about 1 minute, then add diced pepper and saute until fragrant, 1 to
2 minutes. Set aside.

Heat 1 to 2 tb of vegetable broth in a largish pot. Add remaining
garlic, onion, and carrot. Saute for 2 minutes. Add paprika, fennel,
cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne if desired, and saffron. Stir for
30 seconds, then add rice, boiling water, bay leaves, and tofu. Stir
well and cover pot. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes over low heat until
water has been absorved and rice is cooked. Add black beans, sauteed
peppers, peas, and corn to top of rice, replace lid, and let sit for
5 minutes. Remove lid and fluff mixture with a fork. Discard bay
leaves. Serve garnished with cherry tomatoes and parsley or cilantro.  

Note:

You may need to add more vegetable broth to keep vegetables from
sticking during sauteeing. I didn't measure, so am not sure of the
amounts here. This dish tastes amazingly rich considering it is so
low in fat, and is really colorful with all of those yummy
vegetables. My husband didn't like it because he dislikes fennel, so
you can omit it if you don't like it either!

Adapted from a recipe in Vegetarian Times, Aug 1992

From: therese@garnet.berkeley.edu
Date: Fri, 02 Jul 93 12:56:08 PDT