Mediterranean Paella Vegetarian 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.

ROASTED VEGETABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Position two racks evenly spaced in the oven.
• Put the bell peppers, fennel, eggplants, and red onion in a large bowl, add 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper, and toss. Divide the vegetables between two sheet pans and spread in one layer. Roast for 45 minutes, tossing occasionally.
• Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a 14- to 16-inch paella pan or large (11-inch) Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add the yellow onions and saute for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and saffron and cook for one minute. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to coat the rice with oil. Place the jarred peppers (including their liquid) and paprika in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until pureed. Pour the mixture into the paella pan, stirring to combine, and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of the hot stock and 2 teaspoons salt and cook uncovered over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is mostly absorbed, as you would cook risotto. Continue to cook the rice over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring in 1 cup of hot stock at a time whenever the liquid is absorbed, until the rice is al dente
• Add the vegetables to the paella, add one more cup of stock, and stir carefully. If the paella is dry, add more hot stock. Off the heat, stir in the Manchego cheese, olives, and scallions. Taste for seasonings and serve hot.

MEDITERRANEAN PAELLA (VEGETARIAN)

Steps:

• Place saffron threads in 2 tablespoons of hot water. Stir around and then set it aside.
• In a large pan or dutch oven, sauté the uncooked rice in the olive oil for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add vegetable broth, green beans, black olives, bell pepper, saffron mixture, white pepper, cayenne, and tomato.
• Cook, covered, for 30 minutes, or until the water is evaporated, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

VEGETARIAN PAELLA

Steps:

• Pour 3 tablespoons water over saffron in a small bowl and set aside.
• Sprinkle salt over the eggplant chunks and let stand in a colander for 30 minutes. Rinse and drain.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion, garlic, peppers and eggplant for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika and toss.
• Add the rice, then incorporate the vegetable stock, tomatoes, saffron and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring frequently.
• Fold in the mushrooms, green beans and chickpeas.
• Cook for another 15 minutes and serve immediately.