Paella with cashew nuts

I haven’t blogged in a long time, and this is really the first time I’m blogging since I left my adolescence behind. Those years are really not THAT far back – because I don’t think I am that particularly old, still but definitely not as young as I’d like to be. But I suppose it’s a common dilemma that us in the 20s suffer from :P
I figured I’ll just start blogging as a hobby again, and I also thought it might help my keeping track of recipes that I tried and experimented with.

The first recipe I’m putting up is from a small cookbook I randomly found in a drugstore – which I thought was kind of strange but it was very cheap (10zl, which is around 2.50€) so I immediately bought it. Here’s the catch though: the cookbook is in a language I'm not very fluent at. Fortunately though, I managed to get by understanding the instructions even without google translating it! Ha, I'm ashamed to say that I might actually be somewhat proud of this. Sad to say that does not translate to real life usage lol ):

I suppose this was originally in English, because the author's name is Jenny Stacey.

This paella was the first recipe I have ever tried from the cookbook, and I am very happy to say that it turned out really good and delicious. Since then I have looked forward to trying other recipes from the book.



Vegetarian paella with cashew nuts

Lightly adapted from Kuchnia wegetariańska by Jenny Stacey

Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 red onion, chopped

450g vegetable stock

100g cashew nuts

25g frozen peas

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

A pinch of cayenne powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

--[A]--

150g Arborio rice

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon chilli powder

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 green chilli, sliced thinly

1 red capsicum/bell pepper, diced

75g baby corns, sliced into half

12 pieces of pitted black olives

1 large tomato, deseeded and cubed

Instructions:

1     In a large frying pan or traditional paella pan, heat the olive oil and butter together until butter is dissolved.

2      Add onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes until onion is tender and translucent.

3      Add ingredients [A] to the pan and stir until mixed well. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes while stirring from time to time.

4     Add the vegetable stock, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally.

5     Add the cashew nuts and frozen peas, and cook for 5 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of cayenne and sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. Stir together to mix.

6    Serve hot on a plate with a bit more parsley sprinkled on top.