Veggie paella
I’ve been wanting to make a really easy and delicious vegetarian paella for ages and I threw this one together on a Monday night – that’s how easy it is.
I love Bomba rice as it retains its separateness; and the piquancy (darling) of the sweety-drop red peppers really lifts this along with a big squeeze of bright fresh lemon. I actually prefer this to our also awesome simple paella (with meat and shellfish). Then again I’m a closet vegger. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Plenty of antioxidants in this, but what even are they? Read this blog post for an overview.
- Prep: 10 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
- Servings: 4
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 red onion sliced into thin rounds
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper and 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced into thin strips
- optional – 2-3 Linda McCartney veggie chorizo sausages, sliced
- pinch of saffron
- 300g of bomba rice – this type of rice is key
- 750ml boiling water
- 1 veg stock cube
- large handful of frozen green beans
- 8 stems of tenderstem broccoli
- 2 dessert spoons of sweety-drop red peppers (they come in a jar)
- teacup of frozen peas
- gigantic squeeze of tomato puree, prob about 3-4 tablespoons
- half teaspoon of sugar
- 2 juicy fresh lemons, halved
- chopped fresh parsley to serve
- optional grated Parmesan to serve – is this just me? 😀 You can get a Parmesan-type hard cheese that’s vegetarian, here.
Nuush clients: Please apply the portion sizes stated in your account and divide the recipe so that you make only as much you need.
Instructions
Gently fry all the onion and the garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add the saffron and give it a stir, it will go a beautiful golden yellow! If using the veggie chorizo add that now and give it 2-3 mins to cook. If not, just add the sliced peppers at this stage and cook for a minute or two.
Now add the rice, and actually I threw in a large glug of white wine here and cooked it off, then pour in the boiling water and add the crumbled stock cube and tomato purée, sugar and a large large pinch of sea salt! Nothing wrong with salt in cooking, most excess salt comes from processed foods.
Give it a good mix then leave to simmer so the rice absorbs the liquid and flavours. Paella is not for stirring, unlike risotto.
After about 15 mins add the peas, broccoli and green beans and let them cook away in amongst the heat of the rice. They need to retain their beautiful verdancy. At the same time add the sweety-drop peppers.
Leave for 3-4 mins until the green veg is done then serve with a good sprinkle of fresh parsley and half a lemon to squeeze. And, err, Parmesan if you are like me!
Nutrition Info
Peppers
Peppers have a wide diversity of nutrients and are generally quite overlooked in favour of more trendy veg such as avocados and kale.
They are a rich source of vitamin C. One pepper has more vitamin C than an orange! C is traditionally thought of as a vitamin that wards off colds but it does much more than that. It helps us to absorb iron, supports health skin and tissue, plays a part in a healthy nervous system, helps to produce energy and yes, supports immunity. They have excellent amounts vitamin A for eye health and anti-inflammation as well as vitamin B6 for brain and nerve health and efficient metabolism.
They also contain a number of other B vitamins, including B1, B2, vitamin B3, folate, and pantothenic acid, as well as vitamin E (fights free radical damage that can harm cells), K, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, molybdenum, and fibre. An extraordinary range of goodness.
Find your new natural
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Portion Guidelines
Instead of living with the bore of weighing food, counting points or calories and tapping everything you eat into a phone you can use nature’s custom-designed tool – your hands!
