TRIPLE DUTY PAELLA: MEAT, FISH & VEGETARIAN lower-fat high fibre

Easy paella which feeds either vegans, carivores and pescatarians...or at the same time!

Vegetable-strewn Paella with an almond accent 

Looking for a knock-out dish that will satisfy vegans, carniovores AND pescatarians?  Without exhausting chef? 

Spanish Paella, a terrifically tasty one-dish meal, solves all the problems that come with a household with conflicting food demands.  And it's lower-fat, too.                

The dish is not complicated.  Cooking for either vegetarians or meat or fish eaters is simplest.  But if feeding more than one food group, simply divide the vegetarian rice base as needed, adding tofu, nuts and/or pulses OR chicken, pork or lamb OR shellfish/white fish as required.  

For example, to feed a group of carnivores and vegetarians, divide the cooked rice base in two; add half the ingredients for classic paella to one half of the cooked rice and to the other half of the rice, add half the ingredients for vegetarian paella.

Depending on the size of the household, one recipe can be enough for carnivores and vegetarians.  If you're serving a crowd, doubling the recipe is recommended.

The recipe is lower in fat than normal. Use brown rice instead of white and it's a high-protein, rich-in-fibre winner in the health stakes!

The key ingredient, saffron, IS expensive (in fact one of the most expensive foods in the world) but nothing else has its delicate smokiness.  A half gram of saffron strands is £3 in major supermarkets like Waitrose and is enough for this recipe and more.  Fortunately a little saffron goes a long way and keeps well.

A less expensive option is turmeric, but only in small quantities to colour the rice without overpowering it.  

To accompany -- Authentic Spanish Sangria. 

Serves: 6-8 
Cost: min £6.50, max £1l'ish depending on ingredients (12/24) 

Ingred:

Base:1.5 cups rice - pref brown, not quick cook - well rinsed (see tips) 

2 peppers of different colours
1 onion diced (or fodmap friendly fennel)
1 clove grated garlic (opt)

3 cups/600 ml litre good stock (granules ok) incl 1 glass white wine or white grape juice  
1 tablespoon saffron

a small mug fresh/frozen peas 
1 large tomato, de-seeded and in medium dice

lemon wedges for garnish

ADDITIONS: option of one, two or three types

Classic Paella (adjust additions to base as necessary; ie if making half chicken & fish paella, halve the amount of rice and halve the amount of classic ingredients listed here; the other half of the rice base is cooked with half the ingredients for either vegetarian or seafood paella ) 

Usually chicken with mixed seafood but cubes of white fish keeps cost down

     1 chicken in 16 pieces (neck and back removed for stock) or 8-12 small chicken thighs or 12-14 wings divided in two 
    12 cm chorizo or merged spicy lamb sausage 
    white fish or prawns and/or mussels  (a generous mugful) opt

Vegetarian/Vegan  (adjust additions to base as necessary; ie if making half vegetarian/vegan, halve the amount of  cooked rice and halve the amount of  veggie ingredients listed here; the other half of the rice base is cooked with half the ingredients for either classic or seafood paella ) 

Tofu & Avocado Paella with a twist 

     1 tin drained, rinsed chickpeas or 1 large mug reconstituted dry chickpeas 
     100 gm M&S artichoke, olive and sun blush antipasti OR 3 oz/85gm artichoke hearts OR
     113-175gm/4-6oz smoked or spiced tofu, organic if budget allows, in bite-size pieces

     1/3 avocado (opt)


Seafood Paella (adjust additions to base as necessary; ie if making half seafood paella and half vegetarian or vegan; divide amount of rice in two and add half   the amount of seafood ingredients listed herein one half; the other half of the rice base is cooked with half the ingredients for classic or seafood paella ) 

2-3 generous mugfuls of fresh or frozen shellfish and/or salmon or white fish

    

Method:

Base

1. Wash rice thoroughly until it runs clear, about 5 mins (see tips below); place in a sieve; pour boiling water over; drain; set aside
2. Saute onions, half the peppers (some in each colour) in a thin layer of olive oil in a large heavy-bottom pan, about 10 mins or until onions are tender.   Stir in garlic. 
3. Add rice to onion/pepper mix and stir till well coated.
4. Heat up stock/wine; take off heat; add saffron and stir until liquid is deeply yellow.  Pour over rice.   
5. Bring rice to a boil.  Turn heat down to med high; cook, uncovered and gently bubbling 20-25 mins (brown rice OR half the normal cooking time of white rice]. The surface of the rice should be pitted with small holes and the liquid nearly absorbed.
6. Depending on which versions you are making, divide rice accordingly and add proceed as below 

Vegetable/Vegan Paella 

1. Stir peas, drained chick peas, fresh tomatoes  & pepper into rice 
2. Cover; cook on low heat 10 min
3. Scatter over peas, tofu and avocado if using; cover cook a further 5 mins
4. Arrange artichoke antipasto or artichokes decoratively on top.

(See also Special Occasion Vegan Paella)

Classic Paella 

1. Preheat oven to 180c/ 350f/gas5; remove chicken skin; bake on a rack 20-25 mins or nearly cooked through.  Save juices but remove fat. Cover chicken with foil to keep warm.
2. If using fresh shellfish, drop each type into boiling water until shells open, shrimp are pink or fish tender.  Drain & set aside.  Reserve stock for freezing. 
3. For frozen shellfish, rinse in plenty of water & drain  
4. Heat a large flat pot on med
5. Combine rice, chicken and sausage, if using; spread out in the pot; reduce heat to med low
6. For frozen seafood, after 5 mins gently push rinsed & drained seafood half way down into the rice; cover; cook a further 5 minutes then scatter peas, tomatoes and the rest of the peppers on top. Cover and cook a further 5 mins; stir the veg through the rice before serving with wedges of lemon
7. If using cooked shellfish, after 10 mins; lightly stir in peas, tomatoes and the rest of the peppers;  place seafood decoratively on the surface; cover, cook a further 5 mins; serve with wedges of lemon

Seafood Paella 

1. If using fresh shellfish, drop each type into boiling water until shells  open, shrimp are pink or fish tender.  Drain & set aside.  Remove shells from half the seafood.  Freeze stock for another time.  
2. For frozen shellfish, rinse in plenty of water & drain 
3. Heat a large flat pot on med-high; add base; reduce heat to med-low
4. For frozen seafood, cook base 7 mins covered then gently stir in most of the seafood; cover; cook a further 5 minutes then scatter peas, tomatoes and the rest of the peppers on top. Cover and cook a further 5 mins; gently stir the veg through the rice before scattering over the remainder of the seafood; serving with plenty of wedges of lemon
5. If using cooked shellfish, allow base to cook 10 mins; lightly stir in peas, tomatoes and the rest of the peppers and place seafood decoratively on the surface; cover, cook a further 5 mins; serve with wedges of lemon

Serve paellas with lots lemon wedges,  no-butter garlic bread , a big salad with optional lightly cooked veg like green beans, cauliflower and broccoli florets and a yoghurt & mint dressing.

Tips:

• For frugal seafood, a handful or two of frozen prawns or even chopped fish sticks are perfectly acceptable.  67 tried Premium Seafood Collection* (700g of mixed prawns, mussels and calamari for min £5)  
• Rinsing rice: if using brown,  place rice in a sieve over a biggish bowl; run cold water from the tap over it, making sure all the grains are wet.  If the grains aren't wet, they will float to the top and down your drain, making your plumber very, very cross.  Allow the water to run over the rice until it runs clear, say 5-7 minutes. Rinse twice with boiling water
• if using quick cook rice, cook for half of the producer's recommended cooking time before proceeding with the classical or vegetarian method. Cook only till heated through, say 5-7 mins.

*Iceland, Whole Foods

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Copyright: This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.