Vegetable Paella

Nigel loves Paella, so I thought that I'd try this recipe. Again, it's from "One-Dish Vegetarian Meals" by Robin Robertson.

Vegetable Paella

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium-size onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 cups)
One 28-oz can plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 1/2 cups Valencia or other short-grain rice
1/4 tsp ground fennel
Pinch of saffron threads or 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked or canned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained if canned
1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and green beans and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, and stock and bring to a boil, then stir in the rice, fennel, saffron, salt and red pepper flakes. Remove from the heat, cover, and place in the oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

Remove from the oven, stir in the cannellini beans and peas, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

My Notes: I used frozen green beans, two cans of diced tomatoes, just regular rice, and turmeric instead of saffron (I used to have saffron, but when my girls cleaned out my spice cupboard they threw out "those weird string things" -- ugh). This was easy to make and cooked a lot faster than the recipe said. Again, it made a LOT of food. I thought it was pretty good, but we're getting a little sick of these recipes. They're all too much the same and we need something different. Time to take a break from this recipe book.