Vegan BLT Paella Skewers
A new twist on a classic sandwich. Crispy saffron infused arborio rice cakes with shiitake mushroom bacon, tomato, and basil garlic coleslaw. A perfect appetizer for your next event.
Ingredients
Shiitake Bacon
- 12 caps shiitake mushrooms (approximately 2 cups of trimmed shiitake mushroom caps)
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp liquid smoke
- 1/4 cup water
Saffron Arborio Rice Cakes
- 1 cup aroborio or bomba rice
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs (use gluten free if needed)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2-3 tsp Calabrian chilies in oil (optional, can substitute red pepper flakes)
- salt to taste
- 12 bamboo skewers
- 1 cup prepared basil garlic coleslaw*
- 12 slices tomato
Instructions
Shiitake Bacon
- Remove stems and wipe dirt from mushrooms. Place in a shallow bowl.
- Add soy sauce, water, and liquid smoke to the bowl. Marinate mushrooms for 15 minutes.
- Place mushroom caps in air fryer to crisp into bacon for approximately 15-20 minutes. I like to check mine every 5 minutes. (You can also roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes.)
Saffron Rice Cakes
- Add rice, water, saffron and a large pinch of salt to a pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat a bit and simmer for 18 minutes.
- Drain rice and mix with panko, nutritional yeast, Calabrian chilies if using, and another pinch of salt.
- Coat a mini muffin pan with olive oil spray. Fill each space to the top with the rice mixture.
- Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes until crispy. (If roasting mushrooms in the oven, the rice cakes can cook at higher temperature but check them more frequently.)
Assembly
- Layer a rice cake, small scoop of basil garlic coleslaw, mushroom bacon, tomato slice, and another rice cake. Skewer. Place on a tray with fresh basil for garnish.
Notes
*See recipe for basil garlic coleslaw