CONCORD, N.H. - It's probably true with all cooking, but it's especially true with vegetarian cuisine: The harder you work at a dish the less likely it is to impress.
The reason is simple: The best vegetarian dishes are those that are naturally meat-free. In other words, the more you try to persuade tofu to taste like tenderloin, the less likely it is to be tasty.
It's for this reason that I recently hesitated before trying to craft a paella fit for veggie sensibilities. What could be less vegetarian-friendly than a dish packed with an assortment of meats and seafood?
But a bit of research into the history of the dish revealed that a meatless paella might not be as far from the framers' intent as I initially suspected.
Paella originated in Spain's Valencia region and was built around a base of rice, olive oil and saffron, that pricey thread of a spice that gives the dish its smokey flavor and sunny golden color.
Additional ingredients have varied across the years and regions. Original versions called for a mix of chicken, snails, green beans and peas. Variations included eel, frogs and vegetables.
As the dish spread it spawned new interpretations, including jambalaya in the United States. These days chicken, rabbit, duck, lobster, mussels, shrimp, squid, chorizo (Spanish sausage), peppers, peas and artichoke hearts are common.
Knowing paella's simple start, as well as its many permutations, I no longer felt so bad about stripping out the meat and seafood. The key would be substitutions that feel natural to the dish.
Obviously the rice, oil and saffron would stay. To that I added red bell pepper for color and crunch, onion for flavor, corn, and peas and artichoke hearts since some traditional recipes have them anyway.
Seasonings would be simple, as the saffron should be complemented not competed with. Salt, freshly ground black pepper, a bit of garlic and paprika would do just fine.
As for replacing the meat and seafood, I started with cannellini beans since beans and rice are always a nice combination.
To that I added soy sausage (soy chorizo or just seasoned tofu would be nice, too).
This produced a delicious rendition of paella with subtle spicy overtones. An optional addition for flavor and texture would be lobster mushrooms, most commonly found dried.
These mushrooms resemble their namesake seafood and have a similar dense texture.
Vegetarian Paella
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium onion, diced
14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup paella rice (Arborio or other medium-grain white rice)
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup peas
1 cup corn kernels
6-ounce package seasoned tofu or soy sausage
Preparation time: 45 minutes.
Combine the water and saffron in a cup and let stand 10 minutes.
While the saffron soaks, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over a medium-high flame. Add the bell pepper and onion and saute until the onion is just browned, about 6 minutes.
Add the artichokes and garlic and saute 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to low, add rice and stir to coat with oil. Add broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add the saffron water, paprika, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 15 minutes.
Add the beans, peas, corn and soy sausage. Cover and cook until the liquid is completely absorbed and the rice is tender, about 5 minutes.
Remove pan from the heat and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
