Vegan Paella
Servings 5 people
Equipment
- 15" - 18" paella pan or a large shallow sauté pan / cast iron
- sauté pan (for prepping ingredients)
- aluminum foil
- spatulas & measuring cups
- sieve or strainer
Ingredients
- 1 cup short grain rice (Spanish Bomba rice or arborio rice, preferred)
- 1½ cup vegetable broth (I used ½ tbsp Better Than Bouillon paste + water)
- 1 ¼ tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp saffron threads or a generous pinch (see notes)
- 3 large (1 cup) king oyster mushrooms roughly chopped
- 1 large (¾ cup) fresh tomato diced
- 1 medium (1 cup) red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 small (¾ cup) zucchini diced
- ½ can (¾ cup) artichokes drained and rinsed
- ½ cup green peas defrosted
- ½ cup garbanzo beans (chickpeas) cooked and drained
- 3 cloves (1 tbsp) garlic minced
- ½ medium (½ cup) onions diced
- 1-2 tsp smoked paprika not regular paprika
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1-2 whole lemons cut into wedges
- sea salt & pepper
- fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
PREPARATION
- Preheat a sauté pan in medium heat.
- Tear a small piece of aluminum foil. Place a pinch (or a teaspoon) of saffron threads in the foil and securely wrap foil like an envelope. Heat up the foil on the stove top on each side for about 10 seconds on each side (or until heated). This will help release the flavors of the saffron threads. Set aside for later use.
- Turn up heat to medium high. Coat with a tablespoon of oil. Toss in the mushrooms to give it color. Press (or add weight) on the top surface of the mushrooms to give it more color and crisp edges. Flip mushrooms on each side to do the same. Season with salt & pepper for flavor. Turn off heat once mushrooms have shriveled in size. Set aside for later use.
- Prepare paella pan and heat to medium high heat (or if you are using the same sauté pan, be sure to clean / wipe before using).
FOR THE PAELLA
- Be sure to rinse off rice thoroughly before using.
- Coat paella pan with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the pan with salt with about 1 teaspoon of salt all over (this will help give flavor to the rice, do not skip this step). Toss in the onions, garlic, bell peppers, and zucchini to sauté. Stir until fragrant. Season with a little bit of black pepper.
- Toss the cooked mushrooms into the mix and stir. Add the garbanzo beans, green peas, and tomato. Season with smoked paprika. Sauté all togther and let it set for about 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste into the vegetable mix and stir.
- Add the rice and be sure to stir thoroughly. You will not be able to mix ingredients once the liquids are added, so be sure all ingredients are well combined. Squeeze a lemon wedge (or two) for flavor.
- Prepare you vegetable broth. Unwrap the foil with the saffron threads inside. Mix saffron threads into the broth and stir. Then, pour entire broth (with saffron threads) into the paella mix. Do NOT stir at this point. You can shake the pan or use the back of your spatula (or spoon) to level out the rice to the liquids.
- Add the artichoke hearts and place it on top. You can break the artichokes apart and spread it around the pan.
- Cover pan with a lid to steam as it simmers. Reduce heat to medium. Leave it to simmer for 15-20 minutes, checking up on the paella and shaking the pan every 5 minutes to make sure the bottom does not burn too fast. As liquids reduce, you can reduce your stove top to medium low. NEVER STIR the rice as it cooks. You want to leave it pasty or sticky to achieve the ideal paella consistency.
- If you notice the top of your rice uncooked or harder than usual, add a tablespoon of water (or broth) at a time. Be sure not to overdue it as it might leave your rice too soggy. Cover to finish cooking.
- Once you find the all the liquids absorbed, turn off heat. Place a foil to cover the entire top of the paella pan. Remove from heat and let it rest covered for about 15-20 minutes before serving to steam.
- Remove foil to release its steam.
- Garnish with fresh parsley on top and squeeze a splash of lemon juice all over.
- A perfectly cooked paella will have the rice cooked evenly, slightly sticky/pasty but not soggy. As you scoop out the rice, the bottom of a paella pan will be charred (or toasty) which will be added flavor to the entire dish.
- Perfect to pair with a glass of sparkling wine or sangria. Enjoy!
Notes
Saffron Threads - The MAIN ingredient and flavor of what makes a paella is quality saffron threads. I would recommend checking the organic section of your grocery store or special Asian markets (with a variety of spices) to check. You can also purchase online. Unfortunately, these can be quite expensive to purchase but it will be worth it for special occasions. If you really cannot afford to spend on saffron threads, your next best bet is to use annatto seeds (or achiote powder); it will not give you the flavor as saffron but it will give you the vibrant orange color of paella.
Be careful for fake saffron threads - some saffron threads sold for $1-5 or less are normally fake and contain dye to mimic the color of saffron. Be sure to get your money's worth and double check on the source and quality.
Paella Pan - Paella pans are very inexpensive and you can find them in most home & kitchenware section. This is the ideal pan to cook paella in as it is thin enough to absorb heat and give the signature "charred" bottom flavor of paella. It also enables your paella to cook evenly compared to traditional pans. Of course, you an always substitute pan with a shallow sauté pan or cast iron - it just may take longer to cook with.
Choice of rice - In traditional paella, short grain Bomba Spanish rice is ideal. But it will be rare to find this in most supermarkets. Any short grain rice will do (Filipino paella will call for short grain glutinous rice) but your next best bet to use is arborio rice (which I used for this recipe). Arborio rice is less starchy and is perfect for cooking "pasty" rice dishes.