Spring Vegetable Paella

If you ever sampled the Spanish Paella before becoming veggie, you will remember the fantastic flavours and textures that come through the dish and this spring vegetable version will not disappoint, I can tell you.

To be honest, although it contains spring vegetables, you can use pretty much most green veg throughout the year and so long as you have your spice blend and the artichokes you’re pretty much onto a winner in flavour terms.

It has been ages since we last had this (I think over a year!) and the last time I made it there was WAY too much so I ended up sending the remaining meal into work with Jit for our friend James who works in the same office. So this time I was mindful to make it much smaller (not that I don’t like feeding James, but it is really our meal plan!)

I do love a good risotto, especially one packed with flavours and colours so this certainly fits the bill.  You will also have a lot of these ingredients hanging around your store cupboard (if you’re anything like me) so grabbing the veg and getting going couldn’t be easier really.  I love how the artichoke adds such a distinct flavour too –  and a small tin is more than enough, even though it looks piddly!

This is also very budget friendly as you use turmeric for the colour (rather than expensive saffron) and you can substitute the pimiento peppers for general sweet peppers too.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1/2 cup of chopped jarred pimiento peppers

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 cups of risotto rice

950 ml vegetable stock

1 cup of frozen peas

230 g asparagus, cut into inch sided pieces

380 g tin of artichoke hearts, cut in half

400 g tin of cannellini beans

a small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Method:

Heat the oi in a wok or large frying pan over a medium heat

Add the onions and cook until they are transparent and soft, around 5 minutes or so, stir them occasionally to prevent burning or sticking

Add in the garlic and peppers and cook stirring occasionally for 2 minutes until the garlic is cooked and fragrant

Sprinkle in the turmeric, add the rice and stir through

Pour in the stock and stir through, bring to the boil

Turn the heat to medium and leave to simmer gently for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking

Add the asparagus, peas, cannellini beans and artichoke to the mixture and stir through

Cover the wok or pan and simmer for 15 minutes, then let sit for 5 while you prepare the table and bowls

Stir through the chopped parsley and serve

We love having what we call ‘International Nights’ at our house because it is a great way to taste different ingredients and cuisine without having to go too far 😉  Every week we try to have one meal from a different country just to shake things up a bit and having a Spring Vegetable Paella (even though it is still technically Winter) was just the thing for us last week.

What is your favourite international dish?  Perhaps it is one that we’re yet to try!  Share in the comments below and you never know, I might make my own style and share it here with you (or if you have a recipe share it and I’ll make it and let people know how I get on!)

Anyhoo, I hope you have a great day and have fun in the kitchen!