Vegetarian Paella with Romesco Sauce
 
 
Makes 2-3 servings
Ingredients
Romesco sauce (see notes*):
  • 4 medium tomatoes (about 1¼ pounds), cored and cut in half crosswise
  • 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
  • 2 tablespoons + ¼ cup olive oil, divided
  • 3 tablespoons blanched almonds
  • 3 tablespoons blanched hazelnuts
  • 1 dried ancho chile
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Paella:
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 small red bell pepper, cut into ¼"-thick strips
  • 1 small yellow bell pepper, cut into ¼"-thick strips
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¾ cup Bomba rice
  • 1 teaspoon saffron
  • 2½ cups vegetable broth, divided
  • 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • sea salt
  • 1 15 oz. can water-packed whole artichoke hearts, drained, halved lengthwise and grilled (see notes**)
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
  • 8 Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges (for serving)
Instructions
Make the Romesco sauce:
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place tomatoes and half of the garlic, cut side down, on the baking sheet; drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake for 80 minutes; then remove from the oven and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, remove 1 tablespoon garlic from the remaining half head of garlic and put in a food processor.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a fry pan over medium-high heat. Add almonds and hazelnuts and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel to cool; then add to the food processor.
  4. In the same fry pan, add ancho chile and cook over high heat for 10 seconds on each side until lightly browned. Then soak in hot water until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain, remove stem and seeds and add to the food processor.
  5. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove and discard skins and add to the food processor. Squeeze out roasted garlic and add to the food processor. Add salt and purée all the ingredients.
  6. Add remaining ¼ cup olive oil and process until smooth. Then add red wine vinegar and process until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Make the paella:
  1. Heat olive oil in a paella or large shallow fry pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add bay leaves, smoked paprika, turmeric and cayenne pepper and cook for 1 minute.
  2. Add rice; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Then add saffron and ½ cup broth; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
  3. Scatter the chickpeas over the rice and add remaining broth and ½ teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer, without stirring, until the liquid is almost absorbed, 30-40 minutes.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat. Scatter the grilled artichoke hearts and tomatoes over the rice, cover pan tightly with foil and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove foil and scatter the olives and parsley on top. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and Romesco sauce.
Notes
*You will have extra sauce after making the paella, but it's delicious spread on toast or served with poultry or meat. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
**To grill the artichoke hearts, heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush cut sides of artichoke hearts with olive oil. Place in the pan, cut side down, and cook until grill marks are visible, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Recipe by Two of a Kind at http://www.twoofakindcooks.com/vegetarian-paella-with-romesco-sauce/