Vegetable Paella

This is another recipe I tried from my Plenty cookbook and it’s incredible! I am allergic to shellfish so I always believed Paella was something I would never try. I’m so glad I found this recipe and highly encourage you to try it as well.

Ingredients:

• 2 T EVOO

• 1/2 spanish onion, chopped finely

• 1 small red bell pepper, cut into strips

• 1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

• 1/2 fennel bulb, cut into strips

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/4 t smoked paprika

• 1/2 t ground turmeric

• 1/4 t cayenne pepper

• 1 C Calasparra rice

• 6 1/2 T sherry (or red wine vinegar)

• 1 t saffron threads

• salt

• 2 C boiling vegetable stock

• 3/4 C shelled fava beans

• 12 plum tomatoes, halved

• 5 small grilled artichokes in oil from a jar, drained and quartered

• 15 pitted kalamata olives, crushed or halved

• 2 T roughly chopped parsley

• 4 lemon wedges

Directions:

1. Heat up the olive oil in a paella pan, or a large shallow skillet, and gently fry the onion for 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and fennel and continue to fry on medium hear for about 6 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.

2. Add the bay leaves, paprika, turmeric and cayenne to the vegetables and stir well. The add the rice and stir thoroughly from 2 minutes before adding the sherry and saffron. Boil down for a minute, then add the stick and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to the minimum and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, or until most the the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Do not cover the pan and don’t stir the rice during the cooking.

3. meanwhile, pour plenty of boiling water over the fava beans in a bowl and leave for a minute, then drain well and leave to cool down. now squeeze each bean gently to remove the skin and discard it.

4. Remove the paella pan from the heat. Taste and ass more salt if needed but without stirring the rice and vegetables much. Scatter the tomatoes, artichokes and fava beans over the rice and over the pan tightly with foil. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

5. Take off the foil. Scatter the olives on top of the paella and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with wedges of lemon.

Serves 2 generously.

#paella #vegan