This one-pot meal is a crowd pleaser. The flavors are intense and completely addicting. I go out of my mind for the traditional Bomba or Calasparra rice. The short and chubby grains soak up
the saffron liquid and provide a comforting base for the vegetables. If you cannot find those rices, you can substitute with Arborio rice or short-grain brown rice for a healthier variation.
The traditional, decadently rich allioli sauce is passed at the table with paella. The sauce makes the out-of-this-world paella even more amazing.
Early Autumnal Vegetable Paella
Servings
5 Servings
Ingredients
- Best-quality extra-virgin olive oil I prefer an unfiltered organic Spanish oil
- 2 cups diced butternut squash
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced parsnips
- ½ pound mushrooms sliced
- 2 red peppers cut into julienne
- 3 Japanese or Chinese eggplants sliced into ½-inchnthick slices
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup dry white wine I prefer Spanish wine
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 cup Spanish Bomba or Calasparra rice
- ⅓ cup sofrito Catalan tomato and onion sauce
- 3 cups water
- ½ cup fresh or frozen peas
- 1 cup Kalamata olives
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon saffron threads
- Suggested Garnishes: pomegranate seeds lemon slices, toasted pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Heat a large sauté pan or paella pan, coated with olive oil,over medium-high heat. Brownthe vegetables in batches andsauté until they are caramelized. First the squash, carrots, and parsnips, set aside while cooking mushrooms, peppers and eggplant with garlic.
- Once all the vegetables are browned, add them all back to the pan; add the wine, saffron, rice, water, and sofrito. Stir tocombine. Cook the mixture over medium heat until the rice begins to swell.
- Add the remaining ingredients but do not stir them in. Continue to cook until the rice is tender.
- Turn off the heat and cover the paella with a towel, allowing it to sit before serving so the flavors can meld. Pass garlicky allioli.
These directions are very vague. Mixing all the veg and cooking for the same amount of time did not turn out well. The eggplant was very overcooked and the rice was undercooked. The sauce lacks the richness typical of paella.
Thanks for letting us know. I updated the directions to make them more clear.