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.