Vegetarian Paella Recipes

VEGETABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Core the tomatoes, cut into wedges and place in a medium bowl; season with salt, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and toss. Set aside.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet or a paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, paprika, cayenne and saffron and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes.
• Add the fennel wedges and cook until lightly browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip the fennel and add the baby artichokes and eggplant to the skillet; cook until slightly tender, about 4 more minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by about one-third. Stir in the rice and 1 3/4 teaspoons salt; add just enough water to cover the rice completely, 2 1/2 to 3 cups. Increase the heat to high and boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Scatter the haricots verts and 2 tablespoons capers over the rice. Remove the pan from the heat and arrange the tomatoes on top; drizzle with any tomato juices.
• Transfer the paella to the oven and bake, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Scatter the remaining 2 tablespoons capers and the piquillo peppers over the paella. Turn off the oven but leave the paella inside to continue cooking until the rice is tender, 15 to 20 more minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired

EASY VEGETARIAN PAELLA

Steps:

• Mince the onion. Mince the garlic. Finely chop the tomatoes, removing the cores but keeping the seeds with their juices. Slice the roasted red peppers into strips, and set aside.
• Measure out all the remaining ingredients before you start. The cooking process goes fast!
• In your largest skillet or a 4-serving paella pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until just translucent, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped tomatoes, the smoked paprika and red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and cook until the tomatoes have broken down and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the stock, chickpeas, saffron and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir, then immediately sprinkle the rice evenly across the broth and tap the pan with a spoon to evenly spread the rice. Bring to a medium simmer and cook without stirring until liquid is absorbed, about 18 to 22 minutes (adjust the cook time as necessary if using a skillet). If your pan is large enough to span multiple burners on your stovetop, adjust the heat on each burner so you achieve a steady medium simmer. Rotate the pan every few minutes for an even cook.
• When the top of the rice is beginning to show through the liquid, about 10 minutes into the cook time, press the artichokes, peas, and red pepper strips lightly into the rice.
• In last few minutes, carefully watch the paella and rotate pan more frequently. As the paella finishes, you'll see the steam start to slow down as the water cooks out. If desired, peek at the bottom of a pan by using a knife to scrape back the rice - you shouldn't see any standing water. The sound will start to change from a simmer to a crackle. This indicates the crust is forming. Let the crackling continue for about 2 minutes before removing from the heat. If you smell any burning, remove immediately.
• When the paella is done, squeeze the lemon wedges onto the top of the pan. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of kosher salt and add the parsley, if using. Serve with additional lemon wedges.

VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN SPANISH PAELLA

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the 2 cups of water to a rolling boil and add the rice.
• Give it a quick stir, then cover and turn off the heat. Allow the rice to stand for 20 minutes.
• Then carefully drain the excess water, as it will still be hot.
• While the rice is soaking in the hot water, heat the olive oil in the largest frying pan you have (or a paella pan, if you have one) over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is transparent, about 4 or 5 minutes.
• Add the red and green bell peppers and the tomato and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for another 3 minutes.
• Next, add the soaked rice and the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Add the salt, paprika, and turmeric. Cover and allow to simmer until the rice is tender-about 20 minutes.
• Add the peas and artichoke hearts and cook about 1 minute longer.
• Serve and enjoy. Reprinted with permission from "The Compassionate Cook Cookbook ."

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.

VEGAN PAELLA

Steps:

• Mix boiling water and rice together in a bowl; let stand for 20 minutes. Drain.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Add green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and tomato; cook and stir until peppers are slightly tender, about 3 minutes.
• Mix rice and vegetable broth into onion-pepper mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Add paprika, salt, and turmeric; cover skillet and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir peas and artichoke hearts into rice mixture and cook until heated through, about 1 minute more.

VEGETABLE PAELLA

Steps:

• Prepare all the ingredients and have them lined up in front of you in the order listed above - sounds a bit pedantic, I know, but always makes cooking easier.
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add the onions and garlic, cover and cook for about 3 minutes until soft. Then add the peppers and peas, stir in, cover again and cook for a few more minutes.
• Make a well in the centre, put the tomatoes in the well and the paprika on top. Then add the stock (with the saffron if you have it), but make sure it doesn't overflow: if it gets more then half a cm close to the rim of the pan, stop adding stock and just use less rice. Season with pepper and stir.
• Scatter as much of the rice as you think will fit over the stock (depends on your pan, really), stir it in gently, then allow it to simmer gently until the liquid has absorbed and the rice is cooked. This could take about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test a bit of the rice to see if it's cooked, add a bit of stock or hot water if it is not done.
• Stir in the parsley a few minutes before it has finished cooking, if you want to use it, then serve hot. It's also pretty nice cold and should keep for a few days in the fridge.