My grandmother used to cook this sort of vegetable paella when I was a child. She put in different vegetables depending on the season, but artichokes, peppers and potatoes were her favourites ones.
My version doesn’t include artichokes as I don’t like them, but cauliflower or broccoli instead. I’m happy to share her recipe with you, and I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Ingredients (for 3 people):
- 4 small cups of rice (I use coffee cups to measure the rice)
- 9 small cups of water or vegetable broth
- ½ red bell pepper chopped
- ½ cauliflower broken into small florets
- 4 spring onions chopped
- 1 ripe tomato chopped or 2 small cups of tomato puree
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- A bunch of fresh parsley
- Vegetable broth or water
- Turmeric or saffron
- Salt
Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a paella pan or big skillet over medium heat. Add the pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the cauliflower and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the spring onions and cook for 2 minutes.
- Mince the garlic and parsley together (you can use a food processor or a knife) and put them in the pan. Add also the tomato puree (if you are using fresh tomatoes, just chopp them and add to the pan). Mix all the vegetables
- Stir in the rice and cook for a couple of minutes, allowing the rice to toast a little and absorb the flavour from the vegetables. Add the vegetable broth or water, the saffron or turmeric and the salt, mix together and finally add a bunch of fresh parsley. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer until almost all of the liquid cooks off, about 15 minutes. During this time, taste the liquid using a small spoon to be sure that there is enough salt. You don’t have to stir anymore.
- Once the liquid has evaporated, remove from the heat, cover with a lid or aluminium foil and set aside for 5-6 minutes before serving.
Recipe notes:
- You can use the vegetables that you prefer. Try with artichokes, green peas, broccoli, green or yellow pepper, asparagus, etc.
- Don’t stir the rice while cooking, but make sure that all the pan is receiving heat.
- The paellera is the right pan to prepare this kind of rice. You can find it on Amazon and in many shops. If you don’t have one, use a big skillet instead.
