Vegan Arroz con Gandules (Rice and Pigeon Peas)
This is the easy way. No scouring the specialty stores for dried gandules or trying to make it work with black-eyed peas. Farm Fresh or Vallarta Markets and Goya canned Pigeon Peas to the rescue.
Forget the little achiote bricks (annatto seed seasoning). They’re for dissolving in water and lemon juice and soaking meat. Goya makes a 3–ounce shaker of annatto, too. If you can’t find that, get the small bag of Tucan-brand achiote entero (whole annatto).
Shopping List
1 can pigeon peas
1 small bay leaf
1/8 cup achiote oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 bell pepper, diced (green, yellow, or red)
1/2 cubanelle/Italian yellow pepper diced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or chili powder
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
Vegetable broth or stock
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
Pre-heat your oven to 350F. We’re baking this dish so no one complains that most of it is bonded to the bottom of the skillet or the rice is still crunchy.
Drain the canned peas and reserve the liquid. Add enough vegetable stock or broth to the liquid to make 2 cups.Put 1/8 cup of vegetable oil in a small pan and add 1 teaspoon of whole annatto seeds. Heat over low temperature until the oil begins to sizzle, then stir the seeds around in the oil until it has taken on a beautiful reddish-orange color. Drain the seeds out of the oil and put the oil in a large skillet.
Add the diced onion and peppers, garlic, cumin, and cayenne or chili powder to the oil and saute over medium heat until the vegetables are softened. Add the cup of dry rice to the vegetables and stir until the rice is coated with the achiote and vegetable mixture.
Add the liquid from the drained peas + the vegetable stock to the mixture, then add pigeon peas, chopped cilantro, bay leaf, lime juice, and salt. Stir well and remove from heat. Transfer your rice and peas to an oven-safe baking dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F. If the rice is still a little chewy, you can add a splash of vegetable stock and bake for 10–15 more minutes.
Serve with a big, fresh salad and fried plantains with vegan sour cream, there’s nothing better! No Tofutti Sour Supreme for the plantanas (or you just don’t do the partially hydrogenated thing), make your own cow-friendly sour cream with Vegenaise and a dash of lemon juice. We swear it’s better than Tofutti’s.
Vegan Mulligatawny Soup
Chop. Pour. Heat. Done. Impatience is the only way to mess this up.
Shopping List
2 quarts vegetable stock or broth
4 small or 2 medium red potatoes
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 small or 1/2 medium eggplant
1/2 medium or 1 very small yellow onion
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
1/3 cup roasted red pepper
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup whole pistachios
1/4 cup whole cashews
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf or Italian parsley
3 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Chop the potatoes, carrots, celery, eggplant, and onion into 1–inch pieces. You can roast the red pepper yourself and slice into 1”x1” pieces, or just use prepared pepper strips from a jar.
Put the vegetable stock, 2 quarts of water, and all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let it simmer for about 2 to 2 and 1/2 hours. This soup must reduce by at least 1/3 for the flavors to concentrate. Like we said, impatience is the only failure factor. :)
Big discs of garlic naan bread and a vegan mango lassi, it’s a meal!
Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding
Raisins or no raisins. That’s the ballot. “Obama!” is not a valid vote for this ballot.
1 cup cooked rice (white, brown, long or medium-grain)
1 and 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/3 cup raisins (or not)
1/4 cup cream of coconut/coconut cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ginger
Heat everything over low heat until the mixture begins to bubble. Cooking time depends on how thick or loose you like rice pudding. Serve warm, or pour into individual serving dishes, cover and refrigerate until chilled.
That’s it. Meatout, cook, curl up, and watch Fast Food Nation one more time.
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