Spanish Vegetable Paella

My daughter gave me a Paella pan for Christmas. It came with the ingredients and instructions. Paella in authentic Spanish rice dish, usually cooked with seafood, in a special pan. My daughter made Paella with vegetables for dinner tonight. It was delicious, soft rice with crunchy vegetables on top and a crispy layer of rice on the bottom, all cooked in one pan. The recipe serves 2-3 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

6 cloves garlic, roughly minced

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 carrot, peeled and diced

10 green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces (I did not use as I did not have)

1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika

1 cup Spanish round rice

1/2 cup tomato sauce

3 cups vegetable broth

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

salt to taste

                               

Method:

1. Heat the paella pan with oil to medium-high heat. Add sliced peppers and cook till fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan and keep aside.

                                                            

2. Add the chopped vegetables (except the garlic). Stir continuously for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent. 

                                                            

3. Add minced garlic and quickly stir for 30 seconds. 

                                                        

4. Add sweet paprika, mix quickly. Add 1/2 cup tomato sauce. Season with sea salt. Mix everything together and bring to simmer. I used the spice from the paella kit.

                                

5. About 3 minutes after adding the tomato sauce and it has slightly thickened, add in 3 cups of vegetable broth and 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads. Mix together and bring to a boil.

                               

6. Now add 1 cup Spanish rice. Give it one final mix, spreading the rice uniformly over the pan. After this step do not mix the rice again. Turn the heat up to high and cook for 10 minutes.

                                

7. Most of the broth is now absorbed. Turn the heat to low, and add the pepper strips over the rice. Simmer for 8 more minutes. Add more broth if the rice is not cooked enough.

                                                          

8. Turn off the heat. Remove from stove. Cover with a dish cloth and let the paella to rest for 3 minutes. This is to ensure the rice gets fully cooked through. Remove the dish cloth and serve.

                                                

 Enjoy the soft layer of rice on the top and the crusty layer on the bottom.

                                                

Notes:

You can try this dish with mock meat if you like. 

If you do not have tomato sauce, peel and juice 2 tomatoes and use.

You can use water instead of broth.

You can add 1/2 cup canned lima beans to the paella, after adding the rice.

Use Spanish round rice for authentic taste.

Strictly adhere to cooking times and temperature of the stove.

The paella pan is a flat bottomed shallow wok.