This recipe is totally inspired by the Vegan Jambalaya with Wild Mushrooms that I had at Angelina’s Kitchen, the night before the Berkeley Half Marathon last November. I picked up these yellow mushrooms at the farmer’s market, but totally forgot to jot down the name. Anyone know what these are? They were a little slippery to the touch, but had a very filling taste. I combined these mushrooms with Shiitake to make this delicious dish. I cooked two portions, one for my omnivore family (added sausages at the very end) and one for me with red beans and a little extra heat. I surprised myself with how good this Vegan Jambalaya turned out! Definitely a keeper.

Vegan Jambalaya With Wild Mushrooms

Unlike the traditional Louisiana Red Beans with Rice where you serve the beans over pre-cooked white rice, the main trick here is to cook the rice in the mushroom stew itself with a vegan broth. The rice soaks up all of the wonderful flavor this way. I’ll break down this Vegan Jambalaya recipe into three steps. The stew, the broth and finally cooking with the rice.

6 to 8 Shiitake Mushrooms, chopped

2 cups of chopped Yellow Slippery Mushrooms (I really need to find the names of these!)

1 large onion, diced

2-3 stalks of celery

2 tbsps of Sherry or Rice Wine

Konriko Creole Seasoning

In a pre-heated wok with oil, add in the onions and then the celery and cook for a few minutes. Add in the mushrooms with the creole seasoning, a little sherry or rice wine and cook for another few minutes stirring frequently. Set aside.

2 cups of vegan broth (I use Rapunzel Vegan Bouillon)

2 large tomatoes diced

Sprinkle thyme, oregano, marjoram and paprika

Blend the ingredients in a food processor like Vitamix, but not to a smoothie like consistency. Leave some of the tomato bits in there for added texture. Now comes the last bit. As I mentioned above, I made two portions, a non-vegan version with 1 ½ cups of rice and a vegan version with 1 cup of rice. The steps are the same till the very end except for the protein that goes into it (red beans vs. sausages). In a well-oiled wok add in 1 cup of raw Jasmine Rice and stir frequently until the rice turns a shade of brown. Slowly add in the appropriate portion of the tomato broth as well as the wild mushroom stir fry. Stir to mix the ingredients to evenly, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add Cayenne powder for a little extra kick.

When the rice is almost done, add in half a can of Eden’s Organic Kidney Beans. Finally sprinkle in some chopped green onions and there you have it. Vegan Jambalaya with Wild Mushrooms.

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