Veggie Paella (“Paella De Verduras”). My Way

As the weatherman promised, last Saturday the temperatures dropped and we had the usual end of summer storm. It had to come eventually I suppose, however much I wished it wouldn’t.

Still, the earth needs it, as do we, and there is a lovely freshness in the air now. Everything appears greener and you can almost hear the land sighing with relief. Being a few degrees cooler also helps when it’s time to make lunch. Standing for more than 2 minutes in front of a hot stove is unbearable when the temperature rarely dips below 32ºC.

So on Sunday the apron came out, the stand and “paellero” got dusted off and the making of the veggie paella commenced.

My history in cooking paellas is turbulent to say the least. Even though I’d been taught by a Spanish friend of mine, I still couldn’t seem to get it right. It appears so easy yet things have to be just right for the outcome to be edible. As with most things though, the more you practice, the easier it becomes.

One attempt of mine that always springs to mind is the first paella Pep and I made together. It probably would have turned out ok if one vital step had gone to plan. Paella making is best done somewhere secluded outside, mainly due to the oil splattering all over the place. All the ingredients get prepared and taken to the cooking spot before lighting the gas burner.

I’d forgotten the salt so I asked Pep to fetch it for me. Poor Pep, not knowing my kitchen too well, trots off inside to get this most important ingredient. I began adding it as I added the other ingredients, often sprinkling some on every time something different was placed in the pan.

Gradually, the smell that emanated from the frying meat and veg resembled Chinese cooking. I carried on stirring, oblivious to what had gone wrong. The water went in and I started to test the dish for salt. “Está dulce” (it’s sweet) was all I kept saying, as I added more and more of the so called salt. Then it dawned on me. Pep had grabbed the white sugar when he’d ventured in to my kitchen.

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I tried to rectify the dish by adding tremendous amounts of salt but the damage was done. It was the most revolting paella I’d ever eaten, and I’ve eaten some pretty bad ones in my time. Obviously it ended up in the bin. We probably went out for lunch.

Gradually my paella making skills have improved, although I only make the veggie one now. Maybe one day I’ll try my hand at an “Arroz A Banda” or “Arroz Negro”, possibly with someone guiding me to make sure we can eat the finished dish, just in case.

But back to Sunday’s veggie paella. First of all the stand and “paellero” (gas burner) need to be set up (with the bottle of “butano”, of course). This step is pretty important, the paella pan (“paella” in Spanish) needs to be as level as possible for everything to get cooked through evenly.

To check the level, pour in a good amount of olive oil and see if it runs towards one side of the pan. If it more or less stays in the same spot in the middle, it’s level. There are wheels on the stand where the “paellero” sits that can be altered to adjust the height. This is something I find quite tedious (I’m not very patient) so Pep helps me out. It’s not hard, I just want to get on with cooking the dish.

The utensil used for cooking paella is what’s called an “espumadera” or “paleta”, a very handy piece of equipment found in most Spanish kitchens. They’re light, quite long and you can buy them in different lengths depending on the size of your paella pan. I’ve had mine since I don’t know when, it’s been used for all sorts of different things.

Unfortunately on Sunday it gave up the ghost, one of the screws fell off in the paella (thankfully I found it straight away) so I’m now hunting for a new one. A trip to the market this Saturday is on the cards I think.

Right, back to the paella. Get all your ingredients ready beforehand. Once the paella is cooking you won’t have much time for anything else, you can’t really leave it for a few minutes and walk away. For a veggie paella basically anything goes: cauliflower, green beans, artichoke, pepper, courgette, onion, etc but we use what we have at the time and some bits and pieces from the freezer (peas, broad beans).

The rice and water measurements are also a very important part of the process. A proper paella should be nice and thin, whatever the type of paella you’re cooking, and the size of the paella pan should be the correct size for the amount of people you’re going to serve. I have a 41 cm pan which I use for the two of us, occasionally it’s been used for 3 but any more and I’d need a bigger pan.

I use a small glass for my measuring “cup”. When full, it’s the perfect amount for my pan and for 2 hungry people. I think I weighed the amount once, if I remember correctly it was around 190 grams. With the same glass I measure out the water. People have different views on how much water or stock should be used, some using as little as 2 parts water to one part rice. I use approximately 3 and a half glasses full which I heat up to almost boiling ready to be poured in to the pan when the time comes.

Set the gas burner at a low to medium heat and add a generous amount of oil (this is probably already in the pan if you’ve used it to check the level). Once the pan is hot add 3-4 slices of aubergine per person and 3-4 slices of red pepper per person, along with some salt. Fry these until more or less cooked and remove from the pan. Add another good glug of oil (the aubergine will have soaked up the previous lot) and add in the remaining veg along with some more salt.

For Sunday’s paella I used peas, broad beans, green beans (all these were from our huerta that had been frozen when they were harvested) and about 15 whole cloves of garlic, also from our huerta. I forgot the onion and the “ñora”, a type of red pepper often used in Spanish cooking which gives a lovely flavour and lots of colour. Cook all these, stirring frequently until they’re more or less browned.

Then in goes the rice. Cook this for a couple of minutes, add a grated tomato and the “picaeta” (garlic and parsley which has been pounded previously in a pestle and mortar) and cook for another minute or so. Then in goes the water or veggie stock that’s been heated on the stove. Move the rice and veg around a bit to make sure it’s divided equally around the pan.

Turn up the heat to get it all bubbling nicely then lower heat to a simmer. Test for salt (very important), adding more if necessary. Place some chickpeas evenly around the paella and also the fried aubergine and pepper. Then allow to cook until all the water or stock has been absorbed and the rice is cooked through. If you think the rice could still be a bit hard, sprinkle on a little more water or stock.

At the end I like to turn the heat up high for 20-30 seconds or so to create “socarrat”, the tasty browned (not burnt) bit under the rice that everyone likes to scrape off. Take care to not burn it though, there’s nothing worse than black “socarrat” and a smoke flavoured paella.

Now turn the heat off. You need to allow the paella to rest (“dejar reposar”) for a few minutes. Place some kitchen paper over the pan and sit down and eat a salad, some olives and almonds or whatever takes your fancy while the paella cools slightly. Then enjoy.

A lot of people use an artificial yellow colourant to give the dish it’s signature colour. This should be achieved using saffron though. I don’t use colourant and saffron is rather expensive (and I’m not too keen on it either) so I don’t bother to use anything. Can’t see the point really. Also, the dried “ñora” gives some colour (when I remember to use it that is).

And that was our Sunday veggie paella. It’s slightly different to the one they do in the Tárbena restaurant Ca’s Pelut (review here) but it’s still pretty good, even if I do say so myself. We finished off with a homemade vegan mint and matcha choc chunk ice cream made with fresh peppermint from the garden. I’ll post the recipe for that soon, I think it’s my new favourite ice cream.

Right, I’ll be on my way for now. As always, I’ll be back on Valley FM this Saturday between 12pm and 2pm. If you live locally you can listen live on 94.5FM or 102.6FM or online here. The link to last week’s show should you want to listen to it.

If you have any suggestions or questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch, we’d love to hear from you. Thanks for reading. See you very soon, love Georgie and Pep xxx