Cashew Nut Paella

An all-time favorite vegetarian dish and twist on the paella minus seafood. Chances are good, if we have shared a meal together, you might have had this little treasure with 10 grams of protein!

2T olive oil
1T butter
1/2-1 red onion, chopped
2/3 c risotto (arborio) rice
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 green pepper, seeded and diced *
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced *
3/4 c baby corn ears, halved and cut lengthwise
6-10 pitted black olives
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
2 1/2 - 3 c vegetable bouillon
3/4 c unsalted cashew nuts
1/2 c frozen peas
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
fresh herbs to garnish

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pan until it melts.
Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 2-3 minutes until soft.
Stir in the rice, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, garlic, peppers, corn cobs, olives, tomato and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 1-2 minutes.
Pour in the bouillon and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook gently, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes. (Keep an eye to make certain you add enough liquid to avoid the mixture from sticking to the pan - yes, it has happened more than once with my multi-tasking.)
Add the cashew nuts and peas and cook, stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes.
Season to taste and sprinkle with parsley or cilantro.

Satisfyingly serves 4.


* Depending on what is in the kitchen, I often only use one variety of bell pepper or 1/2 of each color. Also, for those of you who prefer to kick it up a notch, add 1 fresh green chili, seeded and sliced!