White rice is the yoga pants of the carbohydrate universe. It’s comfortable and gets the job done, but wins no points for effort or aesthetics.
This is not a criticism. In fact, most days I cook white rice while wearing yoga pants. But I can serve plain rice only so many times before my dear husband sneaks cholesterol-filled macaroni and cheese into the house, and his tender arteries. So, to keep my hubby healthy, and up my own culinary self-respect, I experimented with rice recipes that deliver more nutrition and flavor — without gobs of work. The result is my Easy Vegetable Paella.
Paella is a national treasure of Spain. It hails from the Valencia region, where I have never visited but I imagine everyone looks as fancy as they cook and doesn’t even own items with elastic waistbands. Authentic paella is made from a very specific short-grained rice, named Bomba, in a very specific wide, shallow pan called a paellera, over an open fire called an open fire. And if you are the sort of cook who reproduces paella with that amount of accuracy, I implore you to not send me hate mail. Because readers, I do not have time for 10th-level method cooking. I do not. Instead, I made a respectable weeknight paella in my cast-iron skillet, on my stovetop. And you can, too.
First, warm a quart of vegetable broth with a dash of smoked paprika. Add a pinch of earthy saffron (if you have it) or pungent turmeric (if you have it) or skip the golden spices entirely if your pantry has seen better days. I always recommend homemade vegetable broth, which can’t be beat for flavor and cheapness. Homemade is also the way to go if you watch your sodium intake, because even “low-sodium” boxed broth contains more salt than you add to scratch-made. But if grocery-store broth is the best you can do today, pat yourself on the back and chop up your veggies.
I grabbed my large cast-iron skillet, which conducts heat with perfect precision, and sauteed yellow onion for flavor and an orange bell pepper for color. Two handfuls of baby spinach added iron and a contrasting texture. Zucchini is in abundance this time of year, so I threw one of those in, too. If your zucchini is unwaxed, you don’t even have to peel it. I piled on some savory tomatoes, plus white beans for protein and fiber. Eggplant, yellow squash, asparagus, shallots and kale are all good options, too. Really any veggie will work if you have it around and can take the time to chop it. (If time is of the essence, dice them in advance, or buy pre-sliced veggies when you’re picking up your broth and rice. Your paella and I can’t tell the difference.)
Authentic paella rice can be purchased in specialty stores, but since I am a one-market kind of gal, I use widely available Arborio rice. You may recognize Arborio as the darling of Italian risotto. But I promise your paella won’t become creamy like risotto, because there is no stirring to knock the starch off the rice. If you have only long-grain rice in your pantry, it’s not a complete deal-breaker. Just know that your grains won’t stick together, so the end result will be more pilaf than paella.
Let the whole thing simmer until all the broth is absorbed. It's tempting, but don't even think about stirring it; you want the bottom rice to get a little toasty-crunchy (what paella peeps call the "socarrat"). And just like that, you have a hearty veggie-filled rice dish. Serve it solo as a meatless Monday entree; or as a stepped-up side to chicken or seafood. The type of pants you wear while enjoying it, however, remains completely up to you.
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