My first post! I'm so excited to share my recipes with you. A frustration of mine has always been the lack of veganised Spanish traditional recipes. For that very same reason I decided to create this blog.
If I had to choose my signature dish, that would be paella. It has taken me years to master my vegan paella recipe. I enjoy cooking it for friends and it makes me feel closer to my homeland, Valencia.
Paella is a traditional dish from Valencia, Spain, and we typically eat it on a Sunday with the family. Rice dishes are very common in the area because we have a freshwater lagoon and natural park reserve, L'Albufera, where rice has been grown for centuries. The Arabs introduced rice cultivation in the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th century, and they in turn got it from the Chinese.
Most people, especially from outside Comunidad Valenciana, would call "paella" to anything cooked in a paella pan. However, in Valencia we call that "rice with stuff". You get all sorts of alterations such as adding peas, bell pepper (absolutely not) or the beloved chorizo in the UK, chorizo (remember what happened to Jamie Oliver when he shared a recipe of "paella" with chorizo?). Because everything Spanish must have chorizo.
PAELLA RECIPES
Regarding typical paella recipes, here's a quick summary:
- Valencian paella: this is the traditional recipe that is made with rice, rabbit and chicken, garrofón (Valencian typical butter beans) and stringless green beans. The addition of rosemary is controversial, since rosemary changes drastically the flavour of it. Of course, this is all up to personal taste and family traditions.
- Seafood paella: similar base, but with seafood.
Mixed meat and seafood paella: this is for tourists and I don’t know a single Valencian that would ever eat or cook such aberration.
There are many other paella recipes. I've veganised a few ever since I started, and you can take a look here: vegan black rice paella, vegan fideuà (vegan seafood pasta paella) and arroz a banda (vegan seafood rice paella).
PLANT-POWER, MAKE UP!
Transformation! From chicken-based to plant-based.
I have been to Valencian restaurants, in Valencia and abroad, not particularly cheap either, and left horrified by their versions of a vegetable paella. There is no wrong or right, but I feel like most chefs are not vegan, and therefore, I think that they need to make up for the lack of meat with an awful lot of mismatching vegetables. Nevertheless, there is a harmony to it, and sometimes less is more.
The Vegetable Valencian paella from this post is not a typical recipe, but I am going to share with you my approach on how to make the Valencian Paella into a suitable amazing and tasty vegan recipe.
PAELLA PAN: MATERIALS AND SIZES
Typically, a paella is cooked in a paella pan. You can cook a paella in another pan, but the material that the paella pans are made out of do actually give some of the typical flavours. It won't be the same, but I understand that you are not necessarily going to buy a paella pan to maybe use it once.
These are the different kinds of paella pans you can find:
- Polished steel; this is the traditional paella pan and it will give the somehow desirable metallic undertones. You can wash it with a stainless-steel scourer, dry with a cloth and rub oil on each side so it doesn't get rusty while in storage. Wash well before using next time. This pan tends to burn very quickly. Many people these days cannot be bothered with all this hassle, so it’s becoming increasingly popular getting the next one.
- Enamel coated; these are made of stainless steel covered with a black enamel layer. It doesn't get rusty and it doesn’t burn. The enamel layer can be scratched so use wooden utensils. This is the dream and currently my preferred option. I have been converted and I would not go back to the polished steel.
Carbon steel or stainless steel; I don't have an opinion and I have never seen them, which is all I have to say. Taking a quick look on Amazon, the comments are not great. If you have one and want to share your opinion, please let me know.
COOKING METHOD
Now that you have your paella pan, will it work on an electric hob? What's the best way to cook paella?
- Wood fire: traditionally, paella is cooked over a wood fire in rural houses where people have some sort of a barbecue or simply over a wood fire placed on the floor. Normally, a brick or metal stand (see photo above) holds the paella pan above the fire. Although this is the most genuine cooking method, you'd better be a master paella cook to keep a steady fire for 15 minutes to cook the rice thoroughly.
- Gas: this is second best and what people use the most. If your paella pan is a medium size like mine, the biggest gas burner on a hob should work. If you are planning on using a big paella pan, you can buy a gas ring burner (see photo above) that you can connect to a gas bottle or to your gas supply. Please be safe if you choose this option.
Induction/electric hob;
it may be tricky depending on the paella pan bottom. Flat bottom works perfectly fine. My paella pan is flat but a bit too big for one induction hob, so I turn two of the hobs on and move it around quite often. If the bottom is concaved, you will have to move the pan around constantly or it will burn quickly and get spoiled. Do not recommend.Phew, that was long! I always hate bloggers when you are looking for a recipe and you have to scroll all the way down to find the actual instructions. I thought this was important reference information and I will stand by it.
BONUS TRACK: PRONUNCIATION
Paella in Valencian means "pan", and at the same time we use this word to name the actual dish itself. In case you didn't know, we have our own regional language in Comunidad Valenciana, Valencian, which is mandatory to study in school. The closing line in all posts is in Valencian and it means "Enjoy your meal".
For the pronunciation of paella in Valencian and Spanish, in English, people say [paɪˈɛlə], which is a bit overcomplicated. Shall we try the Spanish way? Now, say with me in three syllables: [pah-eh-yah]. There is no [ɪ] sound. The double "L", or "ll", reads as "young". The accent goes on the "eh".
VEGETABLE VALENCIAN PAELLA
Serves: 4 people
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cauliflower head, florets only
180g stringless green beans, chopped in 1-2 inches
1 can of artichoke hearts in water, quartered and drained
1 can of butter beans, drained
2 ripe tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5L (6 cups) of vegetable stock + 1 tsp. miso
3-4 saffron strands, 1/8 tsp. ground saffron (or 1/4 tsp. of yellow powder food colouring)
1 tsp. sweet paprika
300g paella rice
Olive oil, to fry
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place in a big bowl the cauliflower, green beans, artichoke and butter beans. Cut the tomatoes in half and grate the pulp into a small bowl, then add the garlic.
- Prepare the vegetable stock in a saucepan, add the tomato peels and the saffron, and bring to a simmer.
- Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil to the paella pan over a medium-high heat and spread evenly. When the oil is hot, add the prepped veg from the big bowl, season with salt and fry until golden on all sides. If it sticks, move the pan around, add more oil, or add a splash of boiling stock. Push the veg to the edges, add a bit more of oil to the centre, let it get hot, and then add the small bowl content with the tomato pulp and garlic. Stir the tomato and garlic for about 1 minute until the tomato turns orange. Add the paprika and stir for one more minute.
- Add the rice and stir to coat with the flavours. Add enough veg stock to cover the rice (about 5 cups). Simmer over high heat for 5 minutes and reduce to medium heat for the remaining 10 minutes (15 minutes total). Keep an eye on the paella constantly, and move the pan around if the heat source only hits the centre. If all the stock is gone within the first 10 minutes, you can lower the heat slightly (still medium-high) and add a bit of the leftover stock evenly over the rice. If after 10 minutes of simmering there is still stock over the rice, you can remove some stock with a spoon. Normally, you should hear it crackling around the last 3-5 minutes. All stock must go!
- Turn off the heat and cover the paella with a couple of newspaper sheets or anything else that retains the steam. This will finish cooking the rice at the top, which had less boiling time than the bottom.
You can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Bon profit!