Garbanzo (Chickpea) Paella

Most paella recipes call for using lots of shellfish and chicken. If you aren't into that sort of thing, what do you use as substitutes for those ingredients? Some might use soy or wheat based imitation meat substances. But what if you don't particularly care for those, or can't find them readily available?

My solution this evening was to use a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas). The result won't match that with chicken and shellfish, but if you don't know any better, then it's a perfectly acceptable result.

While squeezing the diced tomatoes, I sprayed myself with some of the juice. Fortunately I was wearing a fairly dark, synthetic shirt (rather than white cotton), so it looks like all of the juice washed off without leaving a stain.

Here's the recipe:

Garbanzo (Chickpea) Paella

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 or 2 bell peppers, sliced into strips (or equivalent frozen strips)
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained and squeezed (or equivalent fresh tomatoes)
• 2 cups medium grain rice
• 4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth, if you prefer)
• A pinch of saffron (approx 1/4 tsp. of threads, crushed with mortar and pestle)
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 lemon, sliced into wedges

Directions

1. In a large (12-inch or so with high sides) skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. When hot, fry garlic until fragrant, about a minute. Add onions and fry until they start to turn golden. Add pepper strips and fry until they start to become tender (or until most of the water from the ice evaporates).
2. Add tomatoes and stir to mix. Add rice and stir to mix until coated well with sauce.
3. Add broth and saffron. Stir to mix well. Add garbanzos on top (do not stir). Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Check to make sure rice is done, then turn off heat. Leave skillet on burner to keep warm and to allow rice to finish absorbing any remaining water.
5. Serve hot with lemon wedges on side.