Wow Your Friends with This Yummy Vegan Paella
Hoping to wow your friends? Read on to find out how to recreate our showstopping vegan paella recipe!
As Spain’s beloved national dish, paella is an all-round winner for dinner parties and celebrations. A one pan wonder, let your guests dig in with their forks for a hearty and warming dinner. Despite paella being almost synonymous with Spain, the dish actually originates from only a small region – Valencia. Paella has a humble history, with it traditionally being a labourer’s food, cooked over a wood fire as a lunchtime meal.
Despite seafood paella being the most popular nowadays, true Valencian paella was originally made using rabbit, duck, chicken or even snails.
In modern Spain, there is no uniform idea of what goes into making a paella, with Spaniards debating on its ingredients, colour and origin.
Whilst vegan paella may not be a Spanish tradition, this recipe definitely does not disappoint. With a dash of saffron and Bomba rice, this vegan paella aims to resemble its traditional counterpart. We like to go a little overboard with our paella, topping it with an array of fresh vegetables to bring some Spanish, summery colour to our dinner table in the grey UK!
Some of our favourite vegetables to use are Ramiro peppers, courgettes, green beans, artichokes and peas, but feel free to use whatever takes your fancy and really make it your own! For more inspiration, take a look at our online vegetable market which is a true emporium for all common and exotic vegetables.
Try adding some tofu or even vegan chorizo and chicken for some extra protein and flavour!
Continue reading for the full recipe below.
Shop our fresh vegetables here!
Ingredients
(Serves 3-4)
- 500ml vegan stock
- 100ml dry white wine
- 200g bomba rice (aborio rice will also work)
- 1 white onion chopped
- 2 Ramiro peppers chopped
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 50g green beans chopped
- 200g sliced courgettes
- Artichoke hearts
- 65g frozen peas
- 1tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2tsp cayenne pepper
- Pinch of saffron
- Salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
- 80g tofu either chopped into small cubes or crumbled
- Vegan chorizo
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- Lemon wedges
Method
- Heat some olive oil in a large pan, add the onion and peppers till softened. Add the garlic and fry till the garlic has softened.
- Add the tomato, spices, salt & pepper, and white wine. Cook till the tomatoes have broken down and peppers are soft.
- In a separate griddle pan, cook the courgette slices and green beans until charred. Then fry off the tofu/chorizo if using.
- Add the rice to the tomato mixture, along with the stock and saffron and peas. Simmer without stirring until most of the liquid has been absorbed – around 10 minutes.
- Stir to combine all of the ingredients.
- Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a lid or foil and allow the paella to rest for around 15 minutes, to allow it to continue to cook.
- Top with the courgette, green beans, artichokes, tofu/chorizo, chopped parsley and lemon wedges.
