Roast fennel and aubergine paella

Roast fennel and aubergine paella

Ingredients:

  • Baby Aubergine - 6 small
  • Fennel - 4 small
  • Red Pepper - 1 thinly sliced
  • Courgettes - 1 medium
  • Onion - 1 finely chopped
  • Paella Rice - 300g
  • Paprika - 1 tsp
  • Saffron - pinch
  • White Wine - 200ml
  • Vegetable Stock - 700ml
  • Frozen Peas - 100g
  • Lemon - 1 chopped
  • Parsley - Handful
  • Salt - pinch
  • Black Pepper - pinch

Instructions:

1 Put the fennel, aubergine, pepper and courgette in a roasting tray. Add a glug of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss around to coat the veggies in the oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, turning a couple of times until the veg are pretty much cooked through and turning golden. 2 Meanwhile, heat a paella pan or large frying pan over a low– medium heat and add a glug of olive oil. Sauté the onion for 8–10 minutes until softened. Increase the heat to medium and stir in the rice, paprika and saffron. Cook for around 1 minute to start toasting the rice, then add the white wine. Reduce by about half before stirring in two-thirds of the stock. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes without a lid, stirring a couple of times. 3 Stir in the peas, add some seasoning, then gently mix in the roasted veg. Pour over the remaining stock, arrange the lemon wedges on top and cover with a lid or some aluminium foil. Cook for a further 10 minutes. 4 To ensure you get the classic layer of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan, increase the heat to high until you hear a slight crackle. Remove from the heat and sit for 5 minutes before sprinkling over the parsley and serving.