Vegetable Spanish Paella

Diet and nutrition Diet and meal planning CKD diet

Enjoy a vibrant, plant-based paella with chickpeas, green peas, and traditional spices. A flavorful, fiber-rich dish perfect for sharing.

Meal TypeDinner, Lunch, Side dish

DietsHigh fiber, Low fat, Low phosphorus, Low sugar

Ingredients

Yield: Yield
3 cups

2 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red bell pepper, small diced
1 cup fresh tomato grated or canned (no salt added)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup short-grain white, I used Arborio rice or Bomba or Valencia rice because absorb 3 times more water and flavor than long grain rice. If using Valencia short grain rice for each 1 cup you will need 2 ¼ of vegetable stock and for Arborio rice for each 1 cup use 4 cups vegetable stock (preferably use low sodium vegetable stock)
1 cup frozen peas
3 or 4 lemon wedges for garnish
6 canned artichokes hearts marinated in olive oil and vinegar for garnish
1 canned roasted red bell pepper thinly sliced for garnish
1 rosemary to cook the rice and 1 for garnish

Directions

Prep: 15 min, Cook: 30 min, Total: 45 min

Heat vegetable stock in a separate pan
Infuse saffron with couple tablespoons of hot vegetable stock for at least 10 minutes prior to adding to the paella.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat. Then, add bell pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes, add tomato paste, paprika, and garlic (avoid burning garlic). Then add the grated tomatoes and stir everything together and add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper. Slowly pour the hot broth, making sure it's covered by stock and add saffron infusion and stir for 1 minute. Then, add the rice and Don't stir after incorporating to avoid releasing more starch. At this point add the fresh rosemary. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook covered for 5 minutes then uncovered for another 18-20 minutes.
You want a crispy layer of rice to form on the bottom of the pan. This is called the socarrat. Once the rice is done, increase the temperature to medium-high heat for 2 minutes to create the socarrat.
Remove the paella from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Garnish with marinated artichokes, red bell peppers, lemon wedges and a fresh rosemary.

Substitutions

- if you don’t have saffron, use 2 teaspoon turmeric

- if you don’t have the paella pan, you can use any large round wide skillet or pan with a flat bottom

- if you don’t find a short white rice like Valencia/Bomba rice or Arborio rice, you could use a medium-grain rice like Calrose rice, cooking time will vary depending on which rice you are using. Read the cooking instructions in the rice label

Nutritional Information