Samphire is a fabulous vegetable. It grows by the sea and is one of the great tastes of British summertime. But veggies need a change of scene, just like the rest of us. So today we're sending it on holiday to Spain as part of this delicious paella! The trick to a great paella is not to stir too much, so it develops a crispy crust at the bottom of the pan. The Spanish call this the 'socarrat'. It's considered the best bit!
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
1
Onion
1
Yellow Pepper
2
Garlic Clove
30
Black Olives
½
Chervil
1.5
Smoked Paprika
½
Ground Turmeric
175
Risotto Rice
1
Vegetable Stock Pot
(Contains Celery, Sulphites)
1
Cherry Tomatoes
1
Samphire
1
Lemon
750
Water
Preheat your oven to 200°C. Halve, peel and chop the onion into roughly 1cm pieces. Halve then remove the core from the yellow pepper and slice into roughly 1cm pieces. Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press). Roughly chop the olives and the chervil.
Add a drizzle of oil to a saucepan on medium heat. Fry the onion until soft, 5 mins. Add the pepper, season with salt and black pepper and turn up the heat slightly. Fry until slightly browned, 5 mins. Add the garlic, smoked paprika and turmeric. Cook for 1 minute more. Add the rice to the pan and stir to coat in the spices and oil.
Add the water (amount specified in ingredient list) and the vegetable stock pot. Stir and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is 'al dente', 15-20 mins. TIP: 'Al dente' simply means the rice is cooked through but has a tiny bit of firmness left in the middle. If all the liquid has been absorbed before the rice is cooked, just add another 50ml of water and keep cooking.
Meanwhile, cut the cherry tomatoes in half through the equator. Put them on a baking tray, drizzle on some olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Pop on the top shelf of your oven to cook for 10-15 mins. Once cooked, remove the cherry tomatoes and set aside.
Five mins before the end of the paella's cooking time, rinse the samphire in a colander under running water. Put a frying pan on medium heat, 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. It should soften but retain some bite.
Once your paella is cooked, turn off the heat. Squeeze over a little lemon juice and add in the olives, roasted tomatoes and three quarters of the chervil. Stir everything together and serve in bowls with the samphire on top, sprinkled with the remaining chervil. Cut any leftover lemon into wedges and squeeze these over if you want it extra lemony! Enjoy!