This is a family favorite dish. It's loaded with vegetables, olives, peas, and Spanish rice. All my favorite ingredients in one dish! It's delicious and easy to make. One large pan recipe.
Paella is usually made with seafood and Spanish rice. I gave this dish a twist by adding lots of veggies and it turned to be regular dinner dish.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika/chili powder
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes/3 tomatoes chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup canned jackfruit in the brine
2 cups Spanish rice/ you can also use any small size white rice or brown rice
1 cup shiitake mushrooms stemmed and sliced
3 cups vegetable broth/water
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved (optional)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 bay leaves
Canned or boiled chikpeas (optional)
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil/broth over medium heat in a large wide flat-bottomed pan or a dutch oven. Add onions, carrots and bell peppers, cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, jackfruit, mushrooms, chili powder, and bay leaves, cook another 5 minutes stirring frequently.
2. Add in the rice, broth, turmeric, and salt. Gently move the vegetables around so the rice falls to the bottom of the pan as much as possible. Add canned/cooked chickpeas.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently on low uncovered for another 15 mins or until the rice is al dente. Do not stir the rice.
4. After 15 minutes of cooking, add frozen/boiled peas and cook for 5 minutes more.
5. Turn off heat, add olives and cover for 10 minutes. This will allow the rice to absorb any remaining liquid as well as steam the peas.
6. Once done, lightly fluff the rice and serve. Discard bay leaves before eating. Season with salt, pepper, or more paprika to taste.
6. Garnish with chopped parsley and a big squeeze of lemon over top. Enjoy straight from the pan or serve in individual bowls.