Paella full of vegetables can be made quickly with the help of a rice cooker. A brief use of a pan after baking is the key to achieving a crispy rice crust on the bottom, often referred to as socarrat (meaning “burnt” in Catalan).
AuthorHungry PandaCategoryOne Pot, VegDifficultyIntermediateIn your rice cooker inner bowl, heat 2 tbsp oil (use either the sauté or slow cook setting).
Add courgette and mushrooms and season with a little salt. Cook, until golden on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to a small bowl.
Add onion to the inner bowl. Cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, smoked paprika, and saffron and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes, 3⁄4 teaspoon salt and the rice then stir to combine. Stir in the courgette mixture, peas, piquillo peppers, and spinach, stirring to wilt the spinach. Put this mixture into your rice cooker bowl, add stock so it comes to the 2 cup SHORT GRAIN rice level line.
Select the SHORT GRAIN function and press START (alternatively you can cook all of this in a pan for 30 to 40 minutes or bake in a preheated oven set to 220°C).
Once the rice has finished cooking, if you want the crisp bottom, transfer to a pan and cook on the
stovetop over medium heat to make sure the bottom of the rice is crisp - 2 to 3 minutes.
Let it rest for 5 minutes. Top with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Ingredients
Directions
In your rice cooker inner bowl, heat 2 tbsp oil (use either the sauté or slow cook setting).
Add courgette and mushrooms and season with a little salt. Cook, until golden on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to a small bowl.
Add onion to the inner bowl. Cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, smoked paprika, and saffron and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes, 3⁄4 teaspoon salt and the rice then stir to combine. Stir in the courgette mixture, peas, piquillo peppers, and spinach, stirring to wilt the spinach. Put this mixture into your rice cooker bowl, add stock so it comes to the 2 cup SHORT GRAIN rice level line.
Select the SHORT GRAIN function and press START (alternatively you can cook all of this in a pan for 30 to 40 minutes or bake in a preheated oven set to 220°C).
Once the rice has finished cooking, if you want the crisp bottom, transfer to a pan and cook on the
stovetop over medium heat to make sure the bottom of the rice is crisp - 2 to 3 minutes.
Let it rest for 5 minutes. Top with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
For more crunch you can add some long thin green beans or tinned sweetcorn.
Don’t stir the paella when it’s cooking in the oven or the pan. The idea is to preserve the status of the broth and rice to give a good soccarat (golden crust).