Paella

The recipes that just happen accidentally are the BEST! This paella is one of those recipes that when I started making it, I had no clue what will come of it:) To make a long story short, dinner was fabulous! And, not even a single grain of rice was left. The plates were licked CLEAN. My family loved it! I had to share this with you guys…

Tip: You can add tofu on top in addition to the vegetables for an extra protein.

Ingredients:

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups basmati rice, washed under running water until the water runs clear

1 cup celery stalk, chopped

1 leek, chopped

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

3 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon vegetable base

1 bell pepper, sliced into 1/4” strips

1 yellow pepper, sliced into 1/4” strips

1 cup broccoli florets

1 zucchini, sliced into 1/4” strips

1 teaspoon chili pepper

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

+salt

+pepper

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 F

Heat a paella pan on the stove on medium heat, and add olive oil and rice, toast the rice for a couple of minutes then add celery, leek, salt and pepper, sauté for a few minutes then add saffron threads, water, and vegetable base. Bring to a boil, then lower to simmer.

Start topping the rice with the peppers, the broccoli, and the zucchini, like in the photo below.

Sprinkle with chili pepper, sweet paprika, and garlic powder as well as some more salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until the edges become golden brown. Leave the paella in the oven while the oven turned off, for about 1/2 an hour so that the peppers and vegetables will get nice and tender.

Serve warm.