Paella de verduras
Vegetable paella
Valencian vegetable paella with green beans, butter beans, artichokes and saffron
Paella comes from the rice fields around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, where it was cooked over orange-wood fires in a wide, shallow pan. Valencians are strict about it: short round rice, saffron, sweet pimentón, flat green beans (ferraúra) and big white garrofó beans, and never any stirring once the rice is in. This all-vegetable paella keeps those rules and adds artichokes and red pepper, as the market gardeners of the Huerta do in spring. It is cooked and served in the same pan, straight onto the table. Chef's tip: listen for the socarrat at the end. Turn up the heat for the last 1–2 minutes until the rice crackles and smells toasty; that caramelised crust on the bottom is the best part of any paella.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 7 oz flat green beanstrimmed and cut into 4 cm pieces
- 1 red peppercut into strips
- 6 artichoke heartsfresh and quartered, or from a jar, drained
- 8 ½ oz cooked butter beans (garrofó)drained (one 400 g tin)
- 5 ½ oz grated ripe tomato1 large tomato, grated, skin discarded
- 3 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 1 ½ tsp sweet paprika (pimentón dulce)
- ½ tsp saffron threadscrumbled into 2 tbsp warm water
- 5 cups vegetable stockhot
- 1 ½ tsp saltless if your stock is salty
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 lemoncut into wedges, to serve
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Set a 36–40 cm paella pan over a medium-high heat (use two burners if it's bigger than your hob) and heat 5 tbsp olive oil until it shimmers.
Step 2: Add 7 oz flat green beans and 1 red pepper and fry for 6–8 minutes, turning, until they are blistered in spots and the pepper is soft. Colour on the vegetables means flavour in the rice.
8 minStep 3: Add 6 artichoke hearts and fry for 3 minutes more, until lightly browned.
3 minStep 4: Push the vegetables to the edges. Add 3 cloves garlic to the middle and fry for 30 seconds, then add 5 ½ oz grated ripe tomato and cook for 4–5 minutes, until it darkens and thickens to a jammy paste.
5 minStep 5: Take the pan off the heat for a moment, stir in 1 ½ tsp sweet paprika (pimentón dulce) (it scorches quickly), then pour in 5 cups vegetable stock with ½ tsp saffron threads and its water. Add 8 ½ oz cooked butter beans (garrofó) and 1 ½ tsp salt. Bring to a rolling boil and taste: the broth should be slightly too salty, because the rice will absorb it.
5 minStep 6: Scatter 11 ½ oz short-grain paella rice (bomba or senia) evenly across the pan in a cross shape, then shake and nudge it with a spoon so it lies in an even layer, fully under the liquid. This is the last time you stir.
1 minStep 7: Boil hard over a high heat for 8 minutes, moving the pan around the burner so the whole base cooks evenly.
8 minStep 8: Lay 1 sprig rosemary on top, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 9–10 minutes more, without stirring, until the liquid is absorbed and you see little craters on the surface. Taste a grain from the edge: it should be tender with a tiny bite.
10 minStep 9: Turn the heat up to high for 1–2 minutes and listen: when the rice crackles and you can smell toasting (not burning), the socarrat is forming. Take it off the heat.
2 minStep 10: Cover loosely with a clean tea towel and rest for 5 minutes so the rice finishes absorbing the juices. Remove the rosemary and serve from the pan with 1 lemon.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 84 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does paella de verduras take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of red pepper?
- Any colour of bell pepper, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cooked butter beans (garrofó)?
- Cannellini or haricot beans, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Paneer biryaniRice and moong dal in coconut milk
A mild, creamy biryani: rice and husked green gram roasted in ghee, then cooked in coconut milk with peas, carrots, potatoes, peanuts and cashews, and finished with soft fried paneer and a fresh coriander yogurt. Serve hot, garnished with more fried cashews and paneer.
Indian
Arroz con pitu de caleyaSoupy rice with chicken
A pitu de caleya is a cockerel raised free in the lanes, or caleyas, of rural Asturias; its firm, flavourful meat needs long stewing, and families around Villaviciosa and Grado still cook it for feast days. The stew is often finished as a soupy rice, so the deep chicken juices go into every grain. Use the best free-range chicken you can find. The braise includes dry white wine; replace it with extra stock and a squeeze of lemon if you want it alcohol-free. Chef's tip: brown the chicken slowly and deeply; that colour is where the flavour of the whole pot comes from.
Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani
Hyderabad's biryani grew up in the kitchens of the Nizams, and the kacchi style is its proudest form: the chicken goes into the pot raw, in a thick yogurt, mint and fried-onion marinade, and cooks only in the steam trapped under part-cooked basmati. In the old city it is wedding and Eid food, ordered in huge copper deghs, and at home it's the Sunday showpiece, served with mirchi ka salan and a cooling raita. Because the meat cooks without being stirred, small bone-in thigh and drumstick pieces work best. Chef's tip: marinate overnight in the fridge — the yogurt tenderises the chicken and the flavours go right to the bone.