Our vegan take on a traditional Paraguayan stew, a rich vibrant dish made with portobello mushrooms, butternut squash and vegetable in a delicious broth with rice.
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Prep Time 15 minutesmins
Cook Time 55 minutesmins
Course Main
Cuisine Paraguayan
Servings 4
Calories 420kcal
Ingredients
3tablespoonsolive oil
400gportobello mushrooms
2onionsdiced
3medium carrotsdiced
4clovesgarlicminced
1red chillidiced
2sprigs fresh thyme
2tablespoonstomato purée
1teaspoonsmoked paprika
½teaspoonfreshly cracked black pepper
1small butternut squash
2medium potatoes
1red bell pepper
1.5lvegetable stock
80glong grain rice
1cob of sweetcorncut into 3cm sections
Instructions
Cut the portobello mushrooms into large chunks. Cut the red bell pepper, butternut squash and potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Reserve for later.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Once hot add the portobello mushroom and stir to coat them in the oil. Let the mushrooms cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has been released. This will take 10 to 15 minutes.
Optional step: to remove more liquid from the mushrooms and to give them a meatier texture they can be pressed using a flat bottomed potato masher.
Remove the mushrooms from the pan and reserve them for later. Add the diced onions and carrots with a pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions are soft and translucent, around 8 minutes.
Add the minced garlic, red chilli and sprigs of thyme and continue to sauté for 2 minutes.
Now add the tomato purée and mix well. Sauté until the puree is a deep red colour, around 3 minutes.
Add the smoked paprika and the freshly cracked black pepper, mix in and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the butternut squash, potatoes and red bell pepper to the pan with the vegetable stock.
Mix to combine everything then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the rice, reserved portobello mushrooms and the cut cob of sweetcorn. Mix everything together and make sure everything is submerged in the broth. Cover again and continue to simmer until the rice is cooked, around 10 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, the amount of salt needed will depend on the amount of salt in your vegetable stock. We needed to add ½ teaspoon of salt at this stage.
Serve your Vegan Puchero Paraguayo with some fresh bread.