Week 8 - Veggie paella

#vegan #vegetarian #paella

A vegetarian paella given texture with seared asparagus, butter beans and sun dried tomatoes, then flavoured with roasted garlic, white wine and lemon.

Basic ingredients

Bomba or paella rice (aka arroz valencia) - you can also use plain rice at a pinch but don't use arborio as this rice is for risotto

1 onion

1 carrot

1 red pepper

Frozen peas

2 fresh lemons

Can of butterbeans

Asparagus

Tin of tomatoes

Baby tomatoes

Tomato puree

Herbs & spices: chilli, garlic (a whole bulb if you can get it), smokey paprika, fresh parsley

Luxury version (optional)

White wine

Sun-dried tomatoes

Saffron

Flaked almonds

Olives

Collage of dishes from the cooking class

PREP

Oven 200/180 Fan/gas mark 6

Wrap a bulb of garlic (tops chopped off) in toil foil with olive oil. Wrap half a lemon (chopped in half) in a separate tin foil with olive oil. Put 8-10 cherry tomatoes in a dish and drizzle with.. yes, olive oil. Put all 3 items in the oven.

In a bowl, drain a can of butterbeans. Marinate in the remaining half a lemon, fresh parsley, pepper and olive oil.

Soak a pinch of saffron (3 strands per person) in some hot water.

COOK

Medium heat, cook sliced onion and red pepper, and a diced carrot in olive oil until soft.

Put in dry chill & fresh chopped chillis, 2-3tsp of smokey paprika and tsp of tumeric. Stir then add in 300g of rice. Stir for a couple of minutes.

Add in 2 sliced cloves of garlic and half a tin of tomatoes (or 3 chopped fresh vine toms). Next add 400ml of stock - you can replace 250ml of the stock with white wine for extra flavour.

Finally, add handful of olives, sun dried tomatoes (~10), the saffron and soaking water and a squeeze of tomato puree. Mix gently and simmer for 15 minutes.

Then add frozen peas and half the butterbeans. Add the extra tinned tomatoes/stock if rice is dry. Heat a frying pan really hot, little oil/butter, then add your asparagus and flash fry, trying to get a little bit of searing on the spears.

Carefully remove the lemon and garlic from the oven. Mash half of the roasted adverts in a small bowl with the flesh of the roasted lemon. Stir this into your paella.

Keep the remaining roasted garlic cloves to mix with butter for bread or add to future soups/stews etc.

GARNISH

Check if rice is ready then garnish with:

- sliced lemons

- fresh parsley

- roasted cherry tomatoes

- asparagus spears

- flaked almonds

Join us for a Tuesday cooking class.

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