Vegetarian Paella

Just like *that*, I am back in the meal rut. I experience this lull often and it seriously gets me down. Sticking to the same ingredients, same styles, same recipes. It's monotonous and tiresome. On the flip side, those spare couple of hours required to produce the perfect, healthy, tasty meal, don't exist around here. Organisation and planning are the keys I am thinking, but until such time as I can properly do either of these, I'll have to settle for some simple options like the one I cooked this evening.

I have always loved paella, but never attempted to make it. So the only time I get to enjoy it, is when I have Spanish, which isn't often. When I saw a recipe for vegetarian paella in none other than my new copy of the Women's Weekly 100 Family Meals cookbook (surely I should have shares in these publications by now), it was just begging me to give it a try. I mainly lean towards vegetarian meals, with the exception of chicken and fish and occasionally some mince meat. Therefore I'm forever on the lookout for vego inspiration. However, I am married to one of the biggest carnivores on the planet, so there is generally some tweaking. For this dish, I cooked up a couple of chorizo sausages, chopped them up and threw them into Scott's portion. Everyone satisfied.


The only thing I would add to this recipe to give it a little more oomph would be a sprinkle of fresh chilli or even a pinch of chilli flakes. I was very impressed by the rich colours in this dish. So pretty. Low fat too, with only 6g total fat (1g saturated) per serving. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Paella

2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock

3 cups (750ml) water

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium red onion (170g), chopped finely

2 medium tomatoes (300g), seeded, chopped finely

1 medium red capsicum (bell pepper) (200g), chopped finely

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika

1 3/4 cups (350g) arborio rice

1 cup (120g)  frozen peas

100g frozen baby beans

1/4 cup (30g) seeded black olives, sliced

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Combine stock and water in medium saucepan; bring to the boil. Remove from heat

Heat oil in large frying pan; cook garlic, onion, tomato, capsicum, turmeric and paprika, stirring, until vegetables soften

Add rice; stir to coat in mixture

Stir in stock mixture; bring to the boil

Simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until rice is almost tender

Sprinkle peas and beans evenly over surface of paella; simmer, covered, about 5 minutes or until rice is tender

Add olives and parsley; stand, covered, 5 minutes