Vegan Spanish Paella

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to broil. Cut the red bell pepper in half, remove seeds and stem, and place in a baking sheet (face down). Place the bell peppers in the oven directly under broiler. Broil on high until skin begins to blacken and bubble. Transfer the peppers into a bowl, cover the bowl and let it sit to cool for about 10 minutes. Once cooled remove the blackened skin and cut six 1/2-inch thick strips for garnishing the top, cut the rest into 1/3” pieces.
2. Drain the lima beans, chop the onion, garlic and tomatoes. Trim the greens beans, reserve 5 of the broccolini heads for garnishing the top, cut the remaining broccolini into pieces. Quarter the artichoke hearts.
3. Next dry roast the saffron threads by placing spice in a large frying pan or paella pan on medium heat. Cook one minute or until they begin to brown. Transfer to mortar and pestle and grind toasted saffron with a pinch of salt.
4. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the pan, add the onion and sauté the until soft and lightly brown. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the diced tomato and continue to cook until the tomato softens.
5. Stir in the salt and saffron mixture, paprika, turmeric, and a generous pinch of pepper. Add vegetable stock, green beans, lima beans, artichoke, and red bell peppers (except for the reserved strips) and chopped broccolini (expect for the reserved pieces). Taste and adjust seasonings.
6. Sprinkle the rice evenly over the pan. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to a fast simmer. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes without stirring. If you are using a large pan on a small burner, you may need to move the pan around to cook rice evenly.
7. Decorate the surface of the paella with the red bell pepper strips and broccolini heads. Continue to cook without stirring for 10 minutes. Turn the broccolini a few times so that it cooks evenly.
8. After about 10 minutes, test the rice by tasting a few grains. They should be translucent but al dente. If the pan starts to dry out before the rice is cooked, sprinkle a little water over the top. If there is still too much liquid, turn up the heat to get it to evaporate.
9. Once the rice is close to done, give it one last burst of heat to get the remaining liquid bubbling. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with foil and a couple of towels, allow it to rest for 10 minutes to absorb any remaining liquid.
10. Garnish the top of the paella with sliced lemon wedges. Include a lemon wedge with each serving.
11. Paella can be made with a variety of seasonal vegetables. Try sautéing some sliced vegan sausages and add them in with the vegetables before adding the rice for a heartier version. Hearts of palm and sliced mushrooms also make a great substitute for the traditional seafood found in Spanish paellas.
12. *Note
13. *Recipe courtesy of Liz Gary. For information about free local community cooking classes and special events visit [url=http://www.newoptionsfoodgroup.com]www.newoptionsfoodgroup.com[/url]