It’s another #foodwastefriday and this time we’re celebrating Paella Day! Check out our stories for a step-by-step video guide on creating the perfect plant-based paella! This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover or on-the-turn vegetables that we might find in our fridge at the end of the week. In conjunction with celebrating this Spanish staple, we’ve also written a blog post about the proper storage of spices to ensure maximum potency and flavour in our cooking. Check it out here, where you’ll also find some interesting tidbits about the origins of paella.
As isolation is still in full flow, I want to emphasise the versatility of this dish. You can easily swap out any vegetables for whatever you happen to have to hand. If you don’t have basmati rice but you have white rice, then go with that! If you only have dried lentils or quinoa, then give that a try too! Let’s get started!
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Paella
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 L Vegetable Stock
- Pinch of Saffron or ½ tsp Turmeric
- 1 Onion Peeled and Chopped
- ½ Red Bell Pepper and 3 Spring Onions or any other vegetables you have in your fridge
- 3 Cloves Garlic Chopped
- 1 Large Tomato diced, or ½ Tinned Tomatoes
- 220 g Basmati Rice
- ½ tsp Sweet Paprika (Optional)
- 1 tsp Curry Powder
- Handful Fresh Herbs e.g. Parsley or Coriander
- Juice ½ Lime
- 2 Handfuls Frozen Peas or any other vegetable you like
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepan, add the vegetable stock and turmeric, or saffron. Heat on low so that the stock is barely simmering.
- Add 2 tbsp of the oil to a large saucepan on a low heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, red bell peppers and spring onions to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften, stirring frequently.
- Now add the tomatoes and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle over the paprika and curry powder. Stir the veg well and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and you can smell the aroma of the spices.
- Add the rice and the remaining oil into the pan. Stir well.
- Sprinkle over any fresh herbs and seasoning according to taste. From now, STOP STIRRING THE PAELLA! You want to try and create a bit of a crust at the base of the paella, so it’s important to not stir the rice anymore and allow this crust to form.
- Carefully pour in the hot vegetable stock and let it settle on top without stirring it. Let the rice simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Now, reduce the heat to a low so that the rice is barely simmering for a further 20-25 minutes. After 18 minutes or so you should find that most of the vegetable stock has cooked off. If you’re brave, you can wait an extra 2-3 minutes longer and try to create a thicker crust at the base of the pan – but be careful because if you wait too long, the crust will burn!
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the peas to the pan and cover with a lid. Let the peas slowly defrost in the steam for 5-7 minutes.
- To serve, you can add some extra fresh herbs, lime segments and lime juice for an extra zesty burst. Enjoy!