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Vegan Paella contains many Mediterranean vegetables; zucchini, onion, garlic, and bell pepper. All are slowly cooked in a simple veggie broth, wine and smokey paprika (Pimentón de la Vera) for a sunny main dish! Paella is a great dish; you can make it with whatever you feel like; seafood, meat, fish, veggies, etc. The base always stays the same; the Sofrito, which is; frying the onion and garlic with the pulp of tomato in olive oil. You let it reduce until pasty, and voila the base of all paellas! Then grill a topping in the pan first, and the rest will boil in the rice filled with a yummy broth. For this Vegan Paella version, we’ll grill the zucchini first to make it as a topping. I’ve done the zucchini separately because it would become soft and unpleasant in the broth. This way (grilling it at first), you’ll get the crunch and full flavour…

The most popular dish in Spain, the famous Paella Marinera or Seafood Paella, is a lovely mix of seafood in a bomba rice dish flavoured with veggies, smoked paprika, and saffron. Spain gastronomy at its very best! Paella Marinera (seafood paella) is a dish; I’ve studied quite a lot since I live in Spain. Also, it’s “the meal” every guest visiting looks forward to experiencing. So I did my share of Seafood paella; I even bought a unique burner and massive paellera pan for six people. The beauty in seafood paella is that you can use whatever “seafood” you prefer, although the usual crawfish (Cigalas) and prawns (Langostinos) are the standard toppings. You’ll also find mussels and clams in most seafood paellas but it’s up to you and what you find at the market ultimately. The squid and cuttlefish are also used although usually reserved for the black paella. I’ve used crawfish…

Arroz negro or Black Paella is a popular rice dish on the Mediterranean coast of Spain made of cuttlefish, its ink, white wine, onions and bomba rice. A famous Spanish dish is called “Arroz negro” made with the fresh ink of cuttlefish. I don’t know why they call it “black rice” instead of “black paella” since it’s done exactly like paella. Usually served with an Aïoli sauce (garlicky mayonnaise). Nonetheless, this dark paella is my personal favourite of them all! Get over it! I know it can be challenging for some, even for me at first, the colour and the fact that you eat ink… but if you are courageous enough to take the first bite. Oh my! You will discover another dimension! The ink actually is a mouthful of sea aromas, saline, it’s really a flavour of its own. But if you want to be submerged in that meal… you’ll have to be brave enough…

A new hybrid recipe here: the “Risolla”… a mix between a risotto and a paella; Italy vs Spain. It’s a bit of both techniques, the light frying of the rice at first just like in the risotto and paella, then adding the broth and let sit with the spinach on top so they shrink down into the rice, without moving the rice until the end; that’s more typical of paella. The risotto factor is mainly in the ingredients, a good white wine and cheese to finish. So this isn’t a paella, nor a risotto; it’s a “Risolla”. The end result is less creamy than a traditional risotto because of the lack of moving the rice. But the taste is quite similar. I, often, do those hybrid meals, no disrespect to traditions, they are important and most people stick to them and it’s fine… it’s just “my tradition” is to experiment!…

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