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Winter vegetable paella

A simple, one-pan rice, inspired in Spanish paella, that can be made with your favourite seasonal vegetables and enjoyed family-style.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mediterranean, Spanish, vegan, vegetarian
Tags paella, rice, seasonal, vegan, vegetarian, winter
Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 45 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Silvia Cooks

Ingredients

  • 220 gr round short-grain rice (Bomba, Valencia, Senia, Bahia or Calasparra varieties work well) 1 cup
  • 700-750 ml water or vegetable broth (if using both, combine half-half)

Sofrito

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 leek
  • 2 cloves garlic

Vegetables

  • 2 small carrots
  • 7-8 mushrooms
  • 8 small artichoke hearts
  • 50 gr frozen green peas

Condiments

  • salt
  • 4-5 tbsp tomato sofrito or sauce or 2-3 ripe tomatoes, grated
  • 1/2 nori seaweed sheet + 1 tsp water

Optional

  • 1/4 tsp saffron powder
  • 1-2 fresh rosemary sprigs

Serve with

  • Fresh parsley, chopped finely
  • Lemon slices

Instructions

  1. Set a cast iron pan to medium heat, pour a generous amount of olive oil and once hot, add the finely chopped onion and leek.

  2. Once these have softened, add the chopped garlic and mix well. Cook for 2-3  minutes then push the fried ingredients to the sides, add the chopped carrots to the centre of the pan. You can repeat this process as you add more ingredients.

  3. Once the carrots are a little golden on the sides, add the chopped mushrooms. Once they’ve fried on the pan for about 2 minutes, bring up the heat to medium high, allowing the ingredients to cook in the mushroom water.

  4. Add the artichoke hearts, chopped in half or bite-size. Fry them on all sides until they are lightly toasted. In the meantime, start heating up the water or broth-water mix in a saucepan at low heat, covered.

  5. Once the artichoke hearts are golden brown, add the frozen green peas, tomato sauce (the simplest you can find - avoid any with additional flavours) or grated tomato, and the softened nori seaweed. If using grated tomatoes, make sure to use ripe ones and add a teaspoon of sugar to balance the sourness. If using saffron, add it now.

  6. Mix well until all ingredients are coated. Cook for a few minutes then add the rice.

  7. Pour the water or broth, shake the pan a bit to ensure the rice and vegetables are evenly spread. You can also gently mix with a spoon. The tradition says to not stir it anymore after adding the liquid, so this is a good time to taste the broth and adjust with salt or a little lemon juice. You can add one or two rosemary sprigs to give it a little extra flavour.

  8. Bring to a boil to high heat, then reduce to medium-high and cook for 5 mins. Lower heat to medium-low and cook for another 13 mins or until the rice is al dente.

  9. Taste the rice. If it’s still a little hard, add some water (always hot).

  10. Turn off the heat, cover with tin foil or newspaper and let it rest for 5-10 mins. Serve immediately. You can sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley on top and serve with a slice of lemon on the side.

Notes

  • If using grated tomatoes in the sofrito base, make sure to use ripe ones. If they're not too ripe, add 1 tsp of sugar to balance the sourness.
  • Feel free to sub for any vegetables you prefer or have in your home already. This is a great zero-waste dish, where you can use leftover bits of veggies that might be lying around in your fridge.
  • Traditional paella is made in an actual "paella" pan (wider, metalic). If you have one of those at home, use that one! Cast iron pan works really well when making a 3-5 person rice, but you can use your preferred pan.