Vegetable Paella

Hi guys!


It's monday again and as you might guess, I am introducing you to another vegetarian recipe. This week, it is actually vegan. I have made this paella quite often and I love how great vegetables can taste. I have not been loving vegetables when I was younger. My mum must have had quite a hard time whenever she was trying to feed me or my sister vegetables and fruit as we would rather opt for her pancakes. But as I've grown older, I started paying more attention to my health so I would start experimenting with vegetable recipes in order to find a few good ones. I have developed a deep love for vegetable soups and oven-roasted vegetables, but in summer nothing beats this paella. The recipe is from Gwyneth Paltrow's "Notes from my kitchen table". 


Here's the recipe:


1l (4 cups; 32 fl.oz) vegetable stock    
2 dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms
10 cloves garlic, 4 crushed and 6 finely chopped
Large pinch saffron
1/2 teaspoon sweet pimenton
Coarse salt
freshly ground black pepper


1 large aubergine, cut into slices, ends discarded
125ml (1/2 cup; 4 fl.oz) olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 large tomato
2 red peppers, seeds and stem removed, cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) pieces
400g Bomba rice 
8 small artichokes, trimmed and steamed for 20 minutes, cut in half and chokes discarded
150g frozen peas
1 lemon; 2 lemons cut into wedges to serve


1) Combine the stock with the mushrooms and 4 cloves of crushes garlic in a large saucepan and boil over high heat for 10 minutes. 

Lower the heat, add the saffron and pimento and simmer for an additional 10 minutes to thoroughly combine the flavors. The secret to the recipe is a well-seasoned broth, so season to taste with salt and pepper and more saffron and/or pimento if necessary. Keep warm over low heat.

2) Meanwhile, prepare the aubergine. Sprinkle both sides of the aubergine slices with a bit of salt and lay them between sheets of kitchen paper for at least 15 minutes. 

Cut the aubergine into 2.5cm (1 inch) pieces. Heat half the olive oil in a large sauté pan set over medium heat and cook 2 cloves of garlic until fragrant, about a minute. Add the pieces of aubergine to the pan and cook for 12-15 minutes, stirring now and then, until browned and softened. Set aside.


3) Heat the remaining olive oil in a 40-45cm paella pan over high heat until just beginning to smoke. Turn the heat down to medium, add the onion and 4 remaining cloves of garlic, and cook, stirring, until just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Coarsely grate in the tomato, discarding the skin. Stir together and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the peppers and continue to cook the vegetables together until softened, another 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked aubergine. At this point the vegetable mixture can be set aside for up to 2 hours or refrigerated overnight. 

4) When you're ready to roll, place the paella pan with the vegetables over high heat and pour the rice into the pan in an even cross (this is how I was taught).

Add the stock and stir to combine everything. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Arrange the artichokes and peas on top and simmer until the rice is cooked through, about 35 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the heat source, cover with a large piece of foil and let it sit undisturbed for 15 minutes. 

Alternatively you can cook the paella outside over a not-too-hot barbecue. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the paella. Serve with lemon wedges. 
© Copyright: Gwyneth Paltrow, Notes from my kitchen table, p. 172


active preparation time: 1 hour
total preparation time: 1 1/2 hours
Serves: 6


Here's how it looks once its done:

I personally use 2 cloves of crushed garlic for the broth and 1-2 cloves directly in the paella, but not more. I simply don't want to smell of garlic during the following week. I also use 2 aubergines and 2 tomatoes and cut the red peppers, because I have a hard time digesting them. 
The rice: the recipe requests Bomba rice, which is the best and original spanish paella rice if you can get it somewhere, but if you can't get hold of any, you can use regular Arborio or Carnaroli rice (white risotto rice). I don't own a paella pan, but any plain metal pan works. I have never tried using "modern" non-stick pans. I also find that Bomba rice takes more moisture, so you want to keep additional hot water on the side to add if you need it.


Here's the finished paella:

Have fun trying!