Paella Esmeralda

Paella Esmeralda, originally uploaded by odelapaz.

Since many of you on Facebook were asking, here's the recipe as well as directions. I have a grill and a pretty wide paella dish, so I heat this dish up on my outdoor grill.

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable broth
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped yellow pepper
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
5 cups chopped spinach
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
2 cups rice
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup pimento stuffed green olives, chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped basil
pinch of saffron
6 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp pine nuts

In a separate skillet, simmer the vegetable broth, cumin, turmeric, parsley, and basil and set aside for later.

In a paella pan, add the olive oil and the pine nuts and lightly roast the pine nuts. Then add the garlic, the onions, and the chopped peppers to the paella pan until the vegetables are transparent. After a few minutes, add the chopped spinach and the chopped olives and heat until the spinach is wilted.

After the spinach is wilted, add the vegetable broth mixture along with the mushrooms and the rice to the paella dish. Cook until the rice is soft.

Top the dish with grated manchego cheese and a little dash of paprika for color.