Vegetable paella

I visited a market in Spain today bursting with beautiful vegetables - so what better to make than paella! Summer vegetables grow in the winter here, which is why you'll see so many Spanish veggies in British supermarkets. Anything goes great in a paella but I used fennel, courgettes, carrots and asparagus, with strips of sun-dried tomatoes for colour. No need for fish here!

 

• 1 bulb of fennel, sliced
• 6 slim carrots
• 12 asparagus spears
• 1 courgette, sliced into rounds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 400 g short grain rice
• 500 ml good vegetable stock
• Large glass of white wine
• 1/2 tsp or big pinch of saffron (optional)
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• Good sprinkling of cayenne pepper, to taste
• Lemon wedges (optional)

1. Fennel takes a while to cook, so chop it into wedges, toss in olive oil and roast for about 25 minutes along with the carrots
2. Glug some olive oil into a wide, heavy-based saute pan and gently fry the onion and garlic.
3. Add the rice and stir until it is all coated in oil and lightly nutty.
4. Add a glass of wine and reduce.
5. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and vegetable stock. Stir, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Stir the rice, adding a little more water if it seems dry. Add all the remaining vegetables, arranging them in an attractive pattern on the top.
7. Cover and cook on a low heat for another ten minutes. Check the rice and vegetables, the rice should be just tender and the asparagus not quite done.
8. Take off the heat and leave covered for ten minutes to rest.
9. Garnish with lemon wedges and pretend you're on holiday in Spain. Buen provecho!

Variations

You can use any kind of vegetables in a paella, particularly fresh summer veggies. Tomatoes, peppers, baby sweetcorn, peas, mushrooms are all great.

Saffron is traditional in paella but it's expensive so you can easily leave it out. A pinch of turmeric gives a cheaper non-traditional yellow colour, just don't tell!

In the summer use roasted fresh tomatoes instead of tinned, the flavour is better but tinned is more convenient.

Butternut squash and vegetable Malaysian curry

Spicy New Year! After all the festive stodge I like to make something a bit more exotic and spicy to welcome the New Year. This recipe is also a great way of using up any leftover root vegetables. It's also economical because you can snap up veg really cheaply just after Christmas!

You can use any root vegetables for this but firm butternut squash and sweet parsnips are ideal. I always have surplus carrots so they go in too. For flavour either buy a Malaysian curry paste or add powdered spices of your choice to the onion mixture. Really it's up to you - make it mild and savoury or (I recommend) as hot and or spicy as you can bear!

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 3 parsnips
• 2 carrots
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 onion
• Half bulb of garlic
• 1 thumb garlic
• Asian curry paste of your choosing
• Red chilli (optional)

1. Peel and chop the vegetables into appropriate sizes: softer veg in bigger chunks, harder veg in smaller chunks so they cook evenly.
2. Make your curry base by blitzing the onion, garlic, ginger (and chilli if using) into a paste with a glug of oil, until it's a puree.
3. Put a large pan or wok on a gentle heat, and fry the puree for 5-10 minutes. Keep stirring and don't let it burn!
4. Towards the end add curry paste of your choice.
5. Add the vegetables and coat them with the paste.
6. Stir in the coconut milk, top up the can with fresh water and add that too, along with a sprinkling of salt to taste.
7. Cook for 10-15 mins on a gentle simmer until the vegetables are firm but tender. Err on the side of caution as they continue to cook once you take them off the heat. Add more water if the sauce is too thick.
8. Check for seasoning, then serve with rice and garnish with cashew nuts and a sprinkling of chilli or thinly sliced fresh chilli. Fresh coriander adds a hint of green though personally I can't stand it!