A couple of summers ago, Jenna and I went to Barcelona for 5 days. Even now, I regularly get the Barna Blues! One of our purchases from La Boqueria Food Market was some saffron (along with dragon fruit, which did not go down so well..)

To this day, the saffron sits in our cupboard with a tonne of unnecessary spices that we’ve collected over the years. So, I decided to make good use of the saffron with this paella recipe.

Shopping list: 2 red peppers, 1 onion, garlic, 1 packet of chestnut mushrooms, 300g frozen peas, 1 packet of green beans, 1 packet of cherry tomatoes, 3 lemons, 500g brown rice, 400ml can of coconut milk, fresh coriander, paprika, and the magical saffron.

I added chorizo to mine (after the garlic and onion), but it’s also super easy to add chicken, seafood, or just enjoy the veggie version!

1) Chop up the garlic and onion and add that to a big pan with some olive oil

2) Chop up the red peppers and mushrooms. Add those to the pan, along with the peas, green beans, 4 teaspoons of paprika, the juice of 1 lemon, and some salt. (I also added my chorizo at this point!)

3) Whilst the veggies are softening, chop the tomatoes into quarters. Add these to the pan, along with a pinch of saffron threads. (You really don’t need to use much, hence why it’s stuck around in our cupboard for such a long time…)

4) A couple of minutes later, stir in the rice, coconut milk, and 700ml of water

5) Place the lid on the pan and let it simmer for 1 hour. You only need to stir the paella every 20 minutes, just to ensure the rice isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan.

6) After 1 hour, stir in the juice of the remaining 2 lemons and then serve with some chopped coriander on top.

This made about 5 bowls-worth and was unbelievably easy. Dinner for Jenna, Charles and I, and then a couple more lunches for me!

¡Buen apetito!