This
recipe was a definite home run! Even with my colossal screw up....
The
journey of this recipe involves preparing different ingredients in stages in
the same pot. First, brown the seitan, then remove and put aside. Then, cook the vegetables,
then add tomato paste, then deglaze, then add rice, then add everything including the browned seitan, bring
to a simmer and stick it in the oven. Easy enough, right?
Well, the
step I missed completely was the part where you remove the seitan from the pot.
So the seitan was there during the vegetable sauteing, the deglazing, and the
rice browning. Oh dear. I realized it about halfway through, but there was
nothing I could do but press on. I thought it might ruin everything, but my end
result was pretty great. Granted, the seitan was stirred and handled
constantly, so there weren’t a lot of big chunks, but there were some. And the
texture of the jambalaya was quite dry in the end. I wonder if I would have
ended up with something wetter/stewier, if I had followed the instructions
properly.
And yet,
it was delicious. Great flavors, great mix of proteins, really hearty, and
incidentally, waaaaaay more than 6 servings. 10, at least! Marcy had no idea there was a mess-up in the cooking process.
For the
record, I did incorporate a work-around/substitution for green peppers, which
I should mention in case there are other green pepper haters out there. I used
jalapeños. For some reason, they don’t bother me the way bell peppers do, and
if you remove the seeds and ribs, they’re not spicy, just pepper-tasting. I usually
substitute two or three jalapeños per bell pepper. So much better….
SFO: 9
(This
tastes great and is amazingly hearty and filling. I just had to take a point
off for the fact that this dish dares to evoke the word “jambalaya” and fails
to deliver the expected chicken and/or sausage.)
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