Vegetarian Paella with Tofu and Hard-boiled Egg

VEGETARIAN PAELLA

The paella is cooked over the flames shortly after the fire is lit. The idea is to use the heat from the flames to fry the onions, peppers and tomatoes before adding the rice and the stock and then cooking over a more constant heat once the fire has died down a bit.

We lit the fire at 13:00 and the paella was ready at 14:00.

One of the secrets to making a good paella is to get a beautiful layer of the caramelised socarrat on the bottom of the pan. You can see how much liquid is left and by cooking the paella for a final 10 minutes on a gentle flame when there is not much liquid left, you should get the socarrat of your dreams.

Vegetarian Paella

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 large red pepper, roughly chopped
  • 1 green pepper, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • saffron
  • 1 block firm tofu
  • 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • frozen artichoke pieces or baby artichokes
  • 60g paella rice per person
  • a couple of handfuls of cooked butter beans
  • a couple of handfuls of flat green beans, topped and tailed and cut into 2cm pieces
  • 3 vegetable stock cubes
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, thinly sliced
  • water
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil

METHOD

  1. The day before, pound together the crushed garlic, saffron and a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar.
  2. Add the water and transfer to a small jar with a lid. Leave overnight, shaking hard every once in a while.
  3. An hour or so before you are ready to cook the paella, cut the tofu into cubes and marinate in a bowl with a good splash of soy sauce, some Tabasco and a drizzle of olive oil
  4. To cook the paella, heat some olive oil in a paella pan on an open fire.
  5. Add the onion, red and green pepper, season with salt and fry until soft.
  6. Add the chopped tomatoes and continue to fry.
  7. Sprinkle in the rice and stir well.
  8. Add a litre of water and the vegetable stock .
  9. Add the green beans and butter beans and stir well.
  10. Cover with a large lid and continue to cook over the fire for about 15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes to see that there is enough water.
  11. Arrange the tofu cubes on the top and pour over the marinade.
  12. Check the stock for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.
  13. After about 30 minutes, check to see if the rice is cooked. Cook for longer if it needs more time, sprinkling water over the top if it looks as though all the water has evaporated.
  14. When the paella is almost done, arrange the sliced egg on the top. 
  15. Remove the lid and leave for another 5-10 minutes to caramelize the bottom of the pan for the socarrat.

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

I’m not getting into an argument about whether chorizo belongs in a paella or not – I like to add some cubes of chorizo and think that this improves the flavour. END OF.

The paella is cooked over the flames shortly after the fire is lit. The idea is to use the heat from the flames to fry the onions, meat and other ingredients, before adding the rice and the stock and then cooking over a more constant heat once the fire has died down a bit.

We lit the fire at 13:00 and the paella was ready at 14:00.

One of the secrets to making a good paella is to get a beautiful layer of the caramelised socarrat on the bottom of the pan. You can see how much liquid is left and by cooking the paella for a final 10 minutes on a gentle flame when there is not much liquid left, you should get the socarrat of your dreams.

 

CHICKEN PAELLA

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green pepper, finely chopped and 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 3 or 4 tomatoes, coarsely grated
  • pinch of saffron
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 cup of green beans
  • 1 cup of garrofones (large, flat butter beans)
  • 1 cup of frozen baby artichokes
  • 20cm stick chorizo, cubed
  • chicken stock
  • 60g paella rice per person
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil extra virgin
  • water

METHOD

  1. In a pestle and mortar, grind the saffron, garlic and a pinch of salt. Add a tablespoon or so of water and leave to infuse.
  2. Heat some olive oil in the paella pan.
  3. Add the onion and quickly fry over the flame for a minute or so.
  4. Add the green pepper and the red pepper and fry quickly.
  5. Add the chopped chorizo and fry.
  6. Add the grated tomatoes and fry for a further minute.
  7. Add the green beans, garrofones and artichokes.
  8. Sprinkle in the rice and stir well.
  9. Stir in the saffron/garlic mixture.
  10. Add the stock and the white and green beans and mix well.
  11. The rice will take about 40 minutes to cook. It is important to make sure that it has enough liquid for the first 30 minutes or so, so sprinkle over more water as required. You can always cover with a lid to ensure that the rice cooks properly.
  12. The socarrat will caramelise during the last 10-15 minutes of the cooking time so you want to ensure that the paella is moist enough by now and not add any more water than necessary.
  13. When the rice is cooked, you can leave covered for 10 minutes so that all the liquid is absorbed.
  14. Serve.

Vegetable Paella with Tofu

This take on a vegetarian paella used chunks of firm tofu that have been marinated in soy sauce, and also butter beans and green beans as well as the usual paella base ingredients (onion, green pepper, red pepper, garlic, tomato, etc.).

Vegetable Paella with Tofu
A delicious take on a vegetarian paella made with tofu and beans.
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Ingredients
  1. 1 large onion, roughly chopped
  2. 1 large red pepper, diced
  3. 1 green pepper, diced
  4. 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  5. 1 block firm tofu, cubed and marinated in a couple of spoons of soy sauce.
  6. 2-4 tomatoes, chopped
  7. 1/3 cup of paella rice per person
  8. 400g can of butter beans
  9. handful flat green beans, topped and tailed and cut into 2cm pieces
  10. vegetable stock
Instructions
  1. Heat some oil oil in a paella pan.
  2. Fry the onion, red pepper and green pepper until soft.
  3. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds, before adding the chopped tomatoes.
  4. Mix well and fry for another couple of minutes.
  5. Sprinkle over the rice and stir well.
  6. Add the butter beans and green beans.
  7. Pour over the vegetable stock and cook until the rice is almost cooked.
  8. Remove the tofu from the soy sauce and scatter over the top.
  9. Mix the remaining soy sauce with water and sprinkle over.
  10. When the rice is just cooked, remove from the heat.
  11. Cover and leave to rest for 5-7 minutes.
  12. Serve with garlic mayonnaise.
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