Vegan paella

Vegan paella – It has a gaudy and somewhat high external appearance, but it is extremely simple to make. It’s all about learning to cook perfect rice using only visual cues. If you have a paella wok, just dust it off and you’re ready to go. If not, use a regular wok. I tried to find a paella dish but couldn’t find anything suitable. I found one that was too large for my needs and another that was teflon-coated, which I didn’t like, so I used my stainless steel pan, which worked just fine. Finally, a wok with a better tight fitting lid, because resting the rice is the key to cooking time.

Vegan paella Ingredients

Stock

• 3 shiitake mushrooms, dried
• 10 cm / 4′′ by 20 cm / 8′′ kombu
• one carrot
• 1 celery sprig
• 1 cube vegan stock (optional, but I like to add it)
• fennel trimmings (optional)
• offcuts of parsley

Basic paella

• 1 vegan stock cube (if not using homemade stock)
• 30 mL / 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for grilling
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 200 g / 7 oz ripe tomato (1 large), peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 80 mL / 1/3 cup vegan white wine
• 1 Romano pepper, sliced
• 200 g / 7 oz / 1 slightly heaped cup paella/bomba rice (arborio does good enough job too)
• a generous pinch of saffron, dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
• freshly ground black pepper, to serve

Optional Vegan paella toppings

• 200 g / 7 oz sliced zucchini / courgette
• 1 fennel, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
• 10 halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup peas or broad beans, cooked (or a mixture of both)
• 8 sliced olives
• 4 charred artichoke heart halves, cut in half
• garnished with fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions

1. Put all of the ingredients for making your own stock in a pot with about 750 milliliters of water. Set aside after 45 minutes of simmering under a cover. Dissolve a vegan stock cube in 500 milliliters, or 2 cups, of water instead.
2. In a paella pan or another pan with a thin bottom, heat 2 teaspoons of oil. Fry the onion for about 5 minutes until it becomes soft.
3. Stirring constantly, add garlic and fry until soft and fragrant.
4. Wine, red pepper, chopped tomato, salt, smoked paprika, and
5. It will take about ten minutes for the tomatoes to break down and the red pepper to soften.
6. Char the courgette slices, fennel wedges, and cherry tomatoes on a heated, lightly oiled grilling pan while the paella is simmering. You might need to work in sections for that, depending on the size of your pan. Season and reserve
7. Incorporate the rice into the mixture of tomato and red pepper.
8. Simmer for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, then add 500 milliliters (or 2 cups) of stock. If the rice appears dry after 10 minutes, add a little more stock or water to cover it with a thin layer of moisture.
9. Cover the paella dish tightly with a lid or kitchen foil and turn off the heat. Let the rice rest for 10 to 15 minutes. It will use its own steam to finish cooking.
10. Add artichokes, olives, charred vegetables, peas or broad beans, chopped parsley, and olives to the top. Add some lemon wedges and a good pinch of black pepper to your dish.