In the Kitchen with Chef Don Flores

Wild Vegetable Paella

Ubiquitous in the city of Barcelona, Spain, vegan or vegetarian paella is now gaining popularity for both young and old alike as a healthy alternative to traditional “Paella”

Ingredients:
Medley of root vegetables, cleaned and cut into desired pieces Medley of spring vegetables would also be ideal Assorted mushrooms Bomba rice (depending on the size of your paella pan) Sofrito (blend of garlic, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers) cooked low and slow until it turns into almost like a chutney consistency Vegetable stock (I suggest making your own from scratch) Paprika aioli to garnish Salt and pepper to taste

Make and keep your vegetable stock hot, marinate your root vegetables with minced garlic, smoked Spanish paprika and virgin olive oil and let it sit for 30 minutes. Get your paella pan hot (for best results, use a paella burner or a flat top large enough to cover the entire bottom of the pan) add olive oil and toast the rice until opaque, add sofrito and coat all the rice.

Sauté them lightly to make sure the rice is not burning but “caramelizing”. Add stock and fully cover the pan halfway. Give the pan a little shake back and forth so the rice won’t stick to the pan. Let the rice cook, keep adding stock until the rice is al dente. Add your root vegetable and season with salt and pepper.

At this point, add the rest of the vegetables, make it colorful! The most crucial step is to let it cook a bit more. You will now see some steam and hear some crackling sound (this is a good thing). In Spain they call this the paella music. This is essentially what they call “soccarat” which is the crispy bottom of the pan. The most

sought-after part of paella in Spain. As soon as you hear this “crackling sound” turn the heat off and just let the residual heat do the rest. Let it rest for 10 min before serving. Garnish it with drizzle/little dollops of paprika aioli and some leftover sofrito.