Finding a vegetarian Paella dish isn't difficult. You only have to eat through a fair share of rice-and-vegetable-mixes that could have been fried rice if one accidentally fried it.
Finding great vegetarian paella, with the body and fullness that original paella has, is really hard.
I have tested and tweaked and tried so many recipes, and I've finally found one that I can truly recommend.
This recipe is a mix of a recipe I got off a TV-show I saw a few years back (-can't remember which one, I'm sorry), a meny from a London-based restaurant I copied years ago and my own love for asparagus:
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika powder
1 teaspoon saffron
1 cup dry white wine or apple juice
1 1/2 cup rice (Calisparra rice or Arborio rice)
2 quart bullion
1 bunch of green asparagus, cut into inch long bits
2-3 cups butternut squash, cubed
1-2 cups of brown chantarelle mushrooms, sliced (Portobello mushroom will work too)
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
To serve: Chopped flat leaved parsley (optional)
This dish is best prepared in a large paella pan, alternatively a large wok.
Also, cleaning and cutting up all the vegetables in advance will make the process of cooking this dish a lot more stress free, because this dish requires a lot of vegetable cutting.
Heat the buillion and leave to simmer on low temperature.(You can aldo use vegetarian fond instead of buillion).
Heat the oil in the paella pan, and add onions and paprika. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt. Sautè for about five minutes.
Turn down the temperature to medium.
Add hot and sweet paprika powder and garlic.
Sautè for a few more minutes before you add the tomatoes and the saffron.
NOTE: Add the saffron after the tomatoes, as the saffron burns easily and the liquid from the tomatoes will keep it from burning.
Add the rice and wine/apple juice.
Let the wine evaporate before you start adding more liquid (the bullion).
Add the bullion a little at a time. I usually add a cup, then I let the rice absorb the liquid before I add another cup.
Let the rice cook for about 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the butternut squash, and let it sit in the paella until it's cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Add the asparagus and mushrooms five minutes before the paella is done.
A couple of minutes before the paella is done, add the peas, stir gently, and wait minutes until the peas are heated through (you don't need to stir the paella much for the last minutes. Just make sure it doesn't burn).
Sprinkle chopped parsley on top of the paella right before serving. Serve the paella with a green salad.
Finding great vegetarian paella, with the body and fullness that original paella has, is really hard.
I have tested and tweaked and tried so many recipes, and I've finally found one that I can truly recommend.
This recipe is a mix of a recipe I got off a TV-show I saw a few years back (-can't remember which one, I'm sorry), a meny from a London-based restaurant I copied years ago and my own love for asparagus:
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika powder
1 teaspoon saffron
1 cup dry white wine or apple juice
1 1/2 cup rice (Calisparra rice or Arborio rice)
2 quart bullion
1 bunch of green asparagus, cut into inch long bits
2-3 cups butternut squash, cubed
1-2 cups of brown chantarelle mushrooms, sliced (Portobello mushroom will work too)
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
To serve: Chopped flat leaved parsley (optional)
This dish is best prepared in a large paella pan, alternatively a large wok.
Also, cleaning and cutting up all the vegetables in advance will make the process of cooking this dish a lot more stress free, because this dish requires a lot of vegetable cutting.
Heat the buillion and leave to simmer on low temperature.(You can aldo use vegetarian fond instead of buillion).
Heat the oil in the paella pan, and add onions and paprika. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt. Sautè for about five minutes.
Turn down the temperature to medium.
Add hot and sweet paprika powder and garlic.
Sautè for a few more minutes before you add the tomatoes and the saffron.
NOTE: Add the saffron after the tomatoes, as the saffron burns easily and the liquid from the tomatoes will keep it from burning.
Add the rice and wine/apple juice.
Let the wine evaporate before you start adding more liquid (the bullion).
Add the bullion a little at a time. I usually add a cup, then I let the rice absorb the liquid before I add another cup.
Let the rice cook for about 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add the butternut squash, and let it sit in the paella until it's cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Add the asparagus and mushrooms five minutes before the paella is done.
A couple of minutes before the paella is done, add the peas, stir gently, and wait minutes until the peas are heated through (you don't need to stir the paella much for the last minutes. Just make sure it doesn't burn).
Sprinkle chopped parsley on top of the paella right before serving. Serve the paella with a green salad.
