Tasteology Paella with Veggies, Samphire and Olives

Put a large frying pan on medium heat and add a splash of oil and your onion. Fry the onion for 5 mins until soft, then add your pepper and turn the heat up slightly. Add a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper and fry your onion and pepper together for another 5 mins until slightly browned. Add in the smoked paprika, turmeric and garlic and cook for another minute.

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees for later. Add the arborio rice to the pan and stir it around so it gets a nice coating of your spices and oil, then add the water (as specified in the ingredients) and the vegetable stock pot.

Add a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper. Stir everything together and bring to a gentle simmer (make sure your stock pot has dissolved). Simmer your paella for 15-20 mins until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is ‘al dente’. Tip: ‘Al dente’ simply means the rice is cooked through but has a tiny bit of firmness left in the middle. If the liquid has all been absorbed before your rice is cooked, just add another splash of water. Stir your paella from time to time while it is cooking, but not too much as a good paella has a nice crust on it from the bottom of the pan!

While your paella is cooking, cut the cherry tomatoes in half through the equator, put them on a baking tray, drizzle over some olive oil, sprinkle over a pinch of salt and grind over some black pepper. Put in your oven to cook for 10-15 mins. Once cooked, remove the cherry tomatoes from your oven and leave to the side.

Five mins before your paella is cooked, rinse the samphire in a colander under running water. Put a frying pan on medium heat and add a drizzle of oil and the samphire (don’t worry if it’s still a bit wet, this will help it cook). Grind over some black pepper and cook the samphire for 3 mins, then remove from the heat.