Spanish Rice with Soy Chorizo

A few months ago there was a clearance on chorizo at the grocery store. Despite my best intentions, I took a peek at the ingredients. Ever since then I have wanted to try the soy version. I often like the soy versions of meats. Yves Ground Round is a good thing in my house for lasagna, spaghetti, etc. I like making Taco Soup with soy "hamburger" instead of the real thing. It was with that spirit, then, that I picked up the soy chorizo from Trader Joe's the other night. Instead of just making eggs I wanted to make something a bit more substantial. Launching off the spanish rice I made a while back, I decided to make that and add the chorizo for more of a main dish feel.

Spanish Rice with Soy Chorizo

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 14 1/2-oz. can whole tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp. saffron
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. thyme
16 oz. soy chorizo, casings removed and crumbled


Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes, or until onion is transparent.

Add the rice; stir so it is coated with oil. Add the broth and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 35 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the tomato juice, the cut up tomatoes, the saffron, paprika, thyme, chorizo and stir. Cover and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes longer.

Ingredients:



The stars of this meal are saffron (try Trader Joe's for affordable saffron) and a smoky Spanish paprika. My friend gave me this tin *cough*a few years ago*cough* and it is wonderfully smoky and still full of flavor.



Dice up the celery.



Dice up the onion.



Heat up the olive oil. It's a little more than 1 tablespoon but that's all right...



Once the oil is nice and hot, add the celery and onion to the pan.



After the onion is transparent and the vegetables are soft, it's time to add the rice. Stir the rice around so it's all coated with oil. I kept it in the pan for a couple of minutes prior to adding the broth.



Now add the broth. This was actually homemade turkey broth because I didn't have vegetable broth on hand but I didn't worry since no actual vegetarians were fed during this meal. If you have actual vegetarians you definitely want to be sure to use vegetable broth.



Drop the bay leaf in, cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer for about 35 minutes. You don't need to disturb it; just let the rice cook.



When it's getting close to the 35 minute mark, get your spices together. Pour some saffron in your hand and admire it for a little bit.



Take the casings off the soy chorizo. This is very important!!



After the rice has been cooking for 35 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients. First, the spices go in.



Next, drain the tomato liquid into the pan.



After that has been drained take kitchen shears or a knife and cut up the tomatoes.



Add the chorizo and stir. Cover it and let it cook for about 15 minutes more, or until the rice is tender.

Serve with sour cream (it is a little on the spicy side!).



This was delicious! Everyone except the preschooler and me had seconds. I was surprised my middle child loved it but he did! Mr. Mary Cooks, for his second helping, put the rice mixture into a tortilla and said he liked it that way.

I'm happy this was a hit and I'll definitely make this again. I think the Spanish rice was great, too, and a good keeper for a rice dish from scratch vs. out of a box. Sure, it takes a little more time but it is so worth it because you know what your family is getting.

My First Risotto

I made an informal resolution recently to begin cooking dishes that I hadn't before. I want to stretch myself and try new things. I decided to try a risotto. Inspired by the Asian grocery and their inexpensive produce I opted for a mushroom risotto. I bought three types of mushrooms: portobello, oyster, and shiitake mushrooms. I think I got all of these for about $6. Not bad, eh?

I searched the internet for mushroom risotto recipes. I read a lot of them until I settled on one that looked simple yet that would probably taste delicious. I found one on allrecipes.com that fit the bill.

Gourmet Mushroom Risotto

Submitted By: MYLEEN
Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Ready In: 50 Minutes
Servings: 6
"This authentic Italian-style risotto is cooked the slow, painful way, but it's oh so worth it. It's the perfect complement for grilled meats and chicken dishes."

Ingredients:
6 cups chicken broth, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 shallots, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. In a saucepan, warm the broth over low heat.

2. Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.

3. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to skillet, and stir in the shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives, and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients (there are a lot!!)
Arborio rice (Trader Joe's is a very good resource for this)
Onion
Chives
Mushrooms (any combination you like)
Dry white wine
Olive oil
Pepper
Salt
Butter
Parmesan
Stock (not pictured below)



I started heating up some homemade turkey stock. You do not want it to boil but you do want it to be hot.



Slice up your mushrooms. I actually think I had a bit too many mushrooms here.



Dice up about half an onion very finely. I read somewhere that you want the pieces to be about as small as the nail on your pinky finger.



Chop up the chives for later. Honestly, I found most of the work with the risotto was all the chopping and prepping before you're ready to rock and roll with the cooking.



Shred up the parmesan.



Now you're ready. Heat up some olive oil in a pan. I picked this pan because it seemed like it would be the easiest to cook the risotto in.



Add the mushrooms so you can sauté them.



Heat them up until they're nice and soft. Then remove them to a bowl and let them stand until the end.



Put a bit more olive oil in the pan and then put the onions in. Sauté them until they are nice and soft but not browned.



Stir often and keep your eyes on them.



When they have gotten soft, add the rice.



Stir the rice for about three or four minutes until the grains are coated with oil. After that, add the white wine.



Stir the rice until the wine is absorbed into the rice. Once it is, add about a half cup of hot stock. My ladle is just shy of 1/2 cup so I have to add about a ladle and a quarter at a time.



Stir the rice around so it absorbs the stock.



Stir stir stir until the stock is absorbed prior to adding more stock.



Add more stock and stir. The theme with risotto? Stir. Stir until your hand falls off.



Great! It's absorbed and you've used about 6 cups of stock! Keep trying the rice the closer you get to it being done. You don't want to go over the line to mushy rice!



Awesome. We're all set. The last of the stock is absorbed, the rice is al dente. Remove the pan from the heat and put the butter in.



Stir that until it is all melted and integrated into the rice. Now it is time to add the shredded parmesan.



Remember your mushrooms? Add those back into the pot.



More stirring.



Finally, add some chives.



Taste. Season with salt (I used sea salt but you could also use kosher salt) and pepper. Serve and enjoy!



So, what's the verdict? I am glad I made it. It is very labor intensive and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. It is delicious so the labor is worth it. It's sort of like making fudge with all the stirring. Still, I will make this again. Like I said, I think I had too many mushrooms. It was VERY mushroomy. It needed a milder flavor.

The family enjoyed it, though!