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Paella has been on my "to-make" list for awhile but again like many items, it always seems like too much effort or too many exotic ingredients. So, I never took my desire to make it seriously.
Until Alex and Sonja made the dish for me the first night I was in Indianapolis. The flavor of the pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika) paired with the rice and veggies was perfect. Not only that, the dish is vegan and gluten-free. After that meal I was half tempted to move to Indianapolis just so we could have weekly paella dinners. (Just kidding, but only slightly...)
But alas I'm still four hours away from Indy and the only way I was going to get more paella was to make it for myself. In fact, Alex was even nice enough to grab me some pimentón to take home. I really had no excuse.
I waited until I could get everything from the CSA and since I'm always looking for more zucchini recipes, I decided to replace the artichokes with thickly sliced zucchini and I used fresh tomatoes instead of the canned. Everything worked out perfectly for my 8" cast iron skillet (can you tell I'm excited about my antique store find? Two cast iron skillet dishes in one week!)
Be sure to pop over to A Couple Cooks for the original recipe and some helpful hints on making this! You can find pimentón at stores like Fresh Market or Whole Foods. Also, if you are in the market for cast iron skillets, I highly suggest you check out your local antique stores! I bought mine for relatively cheap and I've been wondering how I've lived my life for so long without small cast iron skillets!
Alex and Sonja suggest using saffron in place of the turmeric to be more authentic; however, as long as you use the pimentón you should loose flavor!
Author:Erin Alderson
Prep Time:10 mins
Cook Time:50 mins
Total Time:1 hour
Yield:1-2 1x
Ingredients
Scale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, diced
1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika (pimentón)
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 cup short grain brown rice
3/4 cup diced tomatoes (about 1 large one)
2 tablespoon water
1/2 cup chickpeas (drained/rinsed if using canned)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
5-6 1/2" slices zucchini
Instructions
In a 8" cast iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Stir in diced shallots and minced garlic, cooking for 4-5 minutes. Next, add 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon tumeric, and 1/2 cup brown rice; cook for one minute.
Next, add the roughly diced tomato, two tablespoons water, 1/2 cup chickpeas, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Give a good stir and cook until tomatoes start to boil, 3-4 minutes.
Finally, carefully pour in 1 1/4 veggie broth and layer zucchini slices on the top of the dish, lightly pushing the zucchini in to the dish. (The broth will be up to the edge of the pan but will reduce down from there.) Bring broth to a boil and the reduce to medium-low.
Continue to let cook without stirring until rice has absorbed almost all the liquid, roughly 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Water should be completely absorbed and paella should look crusty on top!
I've been looking for an affordable cast iron skillet forever. Guess it's time to look at the antique stores b/c spending $80-100 on a pan is just not something I'm down with. On the paella front, after spending a semester in Spain in college, I have an undying love for the stuff. Minus the ones with octopus in them, those I can pass quite easily...
We have a whole zucchini link party happening over at Seasonal Potluck! http://bit.ly/MFhxJH I'm busting at the seams with zucchini from my garden myself and always need more inspirations! This dish will be perfect for the vegetarian supper club I attend every other week! I'd love if you'd link it up
I really need (well, that may not strictly be true) a cast iron skillet, your one here is just perfect! I'm not a big fish person so I've tended to stay away from paella in the past but I love this veggie alternative.
Yum! I've been making a veggie paella from Plenty that is out of this world, and I've been wanting to try some other recipes out as well. Thanks for this one!
Yay, paella! So glad you tried this out, and that it worked too 🙂 I don't remember if we talked about this, but I studied abroad in Spain, and ever since then, I've loved to celebrate special occasions with a paella. So glad we could celebrate you with it! XO Sonja 🙂
I made this for dinner tonight with tapas of avocado and red onion relish, roasted red bell pepper with Spanish olives, and beautiful rustic bread. Everyone loved it from the 1 and 3 year old's up to me and papa. So good!!! I had saffron so added a couple pinches of that in with rice, I will be making this one again I'm thinking next time for a party!
Do you know or ever include the nutritional information and serving size amounts. I LOVE looking at all of your recipes, but my hubby and I count calories/fats/carbs, etc etc. . .and I am not sure how to do that on these recipes. Thanks for sharing such wonderful eats!!
It's been a back and forth on whether or not I want to add that information. While I understand that there are people who like that information, I really want to focus more on whole foods and less on counting calories. I know there are many websites and programs out there that will do this already, it just takes an extra step.
This was delicious and brilliantly easy. I also used a couple pinches of saffron in place of the turmeric, and it was sooo good. It took forever to cook, though; after maybe 80 minutes, I covered it, and then it finished up pretty quickly. Was I supposed to cover it?
The cook time wouldn't be the same. Brown rice cooks between 35-45 minutes while quinoa only needs 15-20. You might be able to pull it off but I'm just not sure...
Missed this question somewhere along the lines! You might be able to but it would drastically change the cooking time and possibly the water/grain proportion!
Wondering if I could use something other than a cast iron skillet? This recipe looks sooooo good but I don't have a cast iron skillet to play with quite yet!
[...] dinner it’s back over to Naturally Ella for a Zucchini Paella. Disclaimer: I’m actually making this recipe, for the first time, as I write. It looks [...]
Hey, I just wanted you to know, for culture and general knowledge that pimenton is a red bell pepper or green one.. You could use that one or the large ones. We in Latin America and in Spain use smoked paprika just as much as you do.. Its not the same (paprika its not the same as pimenton)
I made this tonight and accidentally swapped barley for brown rice (long day at work, what can I say?). I added a little extra time so that the barley would cook through and it actually worked out really well. I also sprinkled some Parmesan cheese over the top and browned it under the broiler for a few minutes to give it a nice crust. I will definitely be making this again and with brown rice this time.
Welcome to my little internet nook. On this site you'll find over a thousand vegetarian recipes, pantry knowledge, and more. I'm ever obsessed with food from gardening, cooking, and preserving. I hope you'll find endless inspiration on these pages and visit often.
I've been looking for an affordable cast iron skillet forever. Guess it's time to look at the antique stores b/c spending $80-100 on a pan is just not something I'm down with. On the paella front, after spending a semester in Spain in college, I have an undying love for the stuff. Minus the ones with octopus in them, those I can pass quite easily...
I actually really love my Lodge... it wasn't in the price range you list. I did flatten it and reseason it myself.
HomeGoods! I think I bought one for $30.
We have a whole zucchini link party happening over at Seasonal Potluck! http://bit.ly/MFhxJH I'm busting at the seams with zucchini from my garden myself and always need more inspirations! This dish will be perfect for the vegetarian supper club I attend every other week! I'd love if you'd link it up
I really need (well, that may not strictly be true) a cast iron skillet, your one here is just perfect! I'm not a big fish person so I've tended to stay away from paella in the past but I love this veggie alternative.
This looks delicious! Definitely going to try it this weekend.
thank you for this - i know what we're having for dinner tonight!
Yum! I've been making a veggie paella from Plenty that is out of this world, and I've been wanting to try some other recipes out as well. Thanks for this one!
Perfect for the season. I was looking for something new to prepare with zucchini and this is definitely something I would love to give a try.
Yay, paella! So glad you tried this out, and that it worked too 🙂 I don't remember if we talked about this, but I studied abroad in Spain, and ever since then, I've loved to celebrate special occasions with a paella. So glad we could celebrate you with it! XO Sonja 🙂
What a lovely summer paella! Beautiful presentation.
I made this for dinner tonight with tapas of avocado and red onion relish, roasted red bell pepper with Spanish olives, and beautiful rustic bread. Everyone loved it from the 1 and 3 year old's up to me and papa. So good!!! I had saffron so added a couple pinches of that in with rice, I will be making this one again I'm thinking next time for a party!
So glad everyone love it! I love your additions!
This looks fabulous! Yum!
Do you know or ever include the nutritional information and serving size amounts. I LOVE looking at all of your recipes, but my hubby and I count calories/fats/carbs, etc etc. . .and I am not sure how to do that on these recipes. Thanks for sharing such wonderful eats!!
you can go onto carb-counter.net and put in the different ingredients to figure out about how many carbs and calories are in different recipes.
It's been a back and forth on whether or not I want to add that information. While I understand that there are people who like that information, I really want to focus more on whole foods and less on counting calories. I know there are many websites and programs out there that will do this already, it just takes an extra step.
This was delicious and brilliantly easy. I also used a couple pinches of saffron in place of the turmeric, and it was sooo good. It took forever to cook, though; after maybe 80 minutes, I covered it, and then it finished up pretty quickly. Was I supposed to cover it?
Anyway, definitely going to make again.
Did you use a cast iron skillet?
I did...
I've missed a ton of comments somewhere along the way- sorry I never responded! The way I was shown how to make it was uncovered.
Do you think I could substitute quinoa for brown rice in the recipe?
The cook time wouldn't be the same. Brown rice cooks between 35-45 minutes while quinoa only needs 15-20. You might be able to pull it off but I'm just not sure...
Missed this question somewhere along the lines! You might be able to but it would drastically change the cooking time and possibly the water/grain proportion!
[...] Summer Zucchini Paella [...]
This looks stunning & tasty 🙂
Wondering if I could use something other than a cast iron skillet? This recipe looks sooooo good but I don't have a cast iron skillet to play with quite yet!
You know, I'm not really sure. You might be able to try a skillet, but you would really want to watch and see if the rice cooked okay!
[...] dinner it’s back over to Naturally Ella for a Zucchini Paella. Disclaimer: I’m actually making this recipe, for the first time, as I write. It looks [...]
[…] Casey’s Zucchini Paella via Naturally Ella […]
Hey, I just wanted you to know, for culture and general knowledge that pimenton is a red bell pepper or green one.. You could use that one or the large ones. We in Latin America and in Spain use smoked paprika just as much as you do.. Its not the same (paprika its not the same as pimenton)
I made this tonight and accidentally swapped barley for brown rice (long day at work, what can I say?). I added a little extra time so that the barley would cook through and it actually worked out really well. I also sprinkled some Parmesan cheese over the top and browned it under the broiler for a few minutes to give it a nice crust. I will definitely be making this again and with brown rice this time.
★★★★★