Authentic Spanish Vegetable Paella Recipes

VEGETARIAN PAELLA

Steps:

• Pre-heat your oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 5.
• To prepare the red pepper, pre-heat the oven grill and cut the peppers in half lengthways. Place both halves on a roasting tin, skin side up and brush with some olive oil and place under the grill and cook until the skins are completely black. Remove from the heat and cover with a tea towel. Once the pepper halves are cooled down, peel the skins off and cut into long strips and set aside.
• Prepare the saffron by lightly toasting the threads on a low heat in a dry pan for a couple of minutes. Transfer the threads into a pestle and mortar and lightly crush them. Pour 4 tablespoons of the hot stock and cover to infuse while you make the paella rice.
• In a large paella pan (45cm diameter) or a large shallow casserole dish, heat one tablespoon of the oil. Once hot, add the runner beans and green asparagus and fry for about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown, season with salt. Remove from the pan and set aside. Allow the paella pan to cool down for a couple of minutes.
• Add the remaining olive oil to the paella pan and gently fry on a low heat the chopped garlic and spring onions until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the paella rice and stir for a few minutes on a gentle heat until the rice is slightly translucent. Add the smoked paprika and stir the rice for 30 seconds, followed by the tomato sofrito sauce. Once the sofrito has cooked into the rice, pour in the hot vegetable stock, followed by the saffron infused stock, frozen peas, red pepper slices and white beans. Season with salt and spread the rice out evenly to cover the bottom of the paella pan.
• Bring the paella to the boil. If you have a timer, set it to 17 minutes. The first 5 minutes, cook the paella on a very high heat until the rice rises to the surface. Check the stock for seasoning and add some more salt if necessary, stir the rice, add the grilled artichoke halves, fried runner beans and asparagus and place the pan in the oven. After 12 minutes, remove the pan from the oven.
• Allow the paella to rest for 5 minutes before serving garnished with lemon wedges.

AUTHENTIC SPANISH VEGETABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Add a pinch of good quality Spanish Saffron (1 pinch), Salt (1/4 teaspoon) and Vegetable Bouillon Cube (2 teaspoon) to Hot Water (450 milliliter) and stir well. Allow to infuse for at least 5-10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, over a large bowl, use the largest holes on a grater to grate the Tomato (1) and discard the skin, season with Salt (1/4 teaspoon) and set aside.
• Heat the Olive Oil (2 tablespoon) in a large flat pan, add the Garlic (2 clove) and fry for 2-3 minutes until the garlic turns slightly golden in colour.
• Add all the Red Bell Pepper (1/2), Yellow Bell Pepper (1/2), Artichoke Hearts (3), Canned White Beans (100 gram), Frozen Green Peas (100 gram), Mushroom (100 gram), Green Beans (60 gram) and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes until soft.
• Season the vegetables with Smoked Paprika (1 teaspoon), Freshly Ground Black Pepper (1 pinch) and pour in the grated tomato, stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes until they are in a slightly brown colour.
• Pour the broth mix in and stir. Then add in the Paella Rice (150 gram), stir very gently, and spread evenly around the pan. You may also want to move the vegetables around to get a more even distribution. After this DO NOT stir please!
• Leave to simmer for 10-12 minutes over medium heat.
• When you see some small gaps start to appear on the surface of rice this means most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add Fresh Rosemary (3 sprig) on top of the rice.
• Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan with aluminium foil and leave to cook for a further 5 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and leaving the foil on the pan, allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• Serve warm straight from the pan, with the Fresh Parsley (1 pinch) and slices of Unwaxed Lemon (1).

MURCIAN STYLE VEGETABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Dice the mushrooms into bite size pieces and sear in the hot olive oil.
• Remove with a slotted spoon (keeping the oil in the pan) and reserve.
• In the same oil, fry the cloves of whole garlic until tender.
• Remove the cloves of garlic and mash in a mortar and pestle with the parsley and saffron too.
• Add the vegetables to the pan and sauté in the hot olive oil for two minutes.
• Add the garlic paste and the mushrooms (with any juices that came out) back to the pan.
• Add one cup of stock and let everything simmer at a low heat for 20 minutes.
• Add the two cup of rice and four cups of stock to the pan.
• Give everything a stir and bring the mixture to a boil.
• As soon as the liquid starts to boil, lower the heat to low and let it cook for 15-20 minutes -- don't stir during this time!
• When the rice is al dente and the liquid is absorbed, you're ready to eat!
• To get the beloved "socarrat" (the caramelized, lightly burnt crust on the bottom of the paella pan) put a kitchen towel over the finished rice and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then remove the towel and put the paella back on the heat on high. Any liquid at the bottom of the pan will start to evaporate, and when you start to hear a sizzle (in Spain we say it sounds like rain) let it caramelize for about 30 seconds (it should not smell burnt). Remove and serve immediately.