Ingredients
1 eggplant, cut into thick -chunks
6 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thickly sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 tsp paprika
1 1/4 cup risotto rice
2 1/2 cup stock
1 lb fresh tomatoes, skinned and -choppe, d
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup cut green beans
14 oz can chick-peas
1 large pinch of saffron- -strands
Directions
Steep the saffron in 3 tb hot water. sprinkle the eggplant with salt,
let drain in a colander for 30 minutes, then rinse and dry.
In a large paella or frying pan, heat the oil and fry the onion,
garlic, peppers and eggplant for about 5 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Sprinkle in the paprika and stir again.
Mix in the rice, then pour in the stock, tomatoes, saffron, and
seasoning. Bring to a boil, then simmer the mixture for about 15
minutes, uncovered, shaking the pan frequently and stirring from time
to time.
Stir in the mushrooms, green beans and chick peas (with thier liquid).
Continue cooking for another 10 minutes, then serve hot, direct from
the pan.
Servings: 1 servings
Chunky Vegetable Paella Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fish; Spanish; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Transcribed cooking instructions as a concept can be observed back into the far past, at least as far back into history as the Egyptians, and possibly even further than that. Interesting though that maybe, mostly, these old cook books were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for meal preparation.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe found, according to academics is a series of tablets in the Sumerian language which recount the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made people feel `wonderful`. During the time of the Roman Empire a man called Apicius created a number of documents showing how to cook the recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his scrolls, Apicius recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into appetizers, entrees and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius recounts how the chefs of Roman times used a good variety of aromatic flavours, including some familiar names for example bay, rue and parsley. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years we have a couple of books which appeared in the fourteenth century - a book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, these two books are nothing to do with the indian food that appears on menues today, but instead recipes for the types of meals on the tables of the rich and powerful of those days. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from the holy lands, including coriander, basil and rosemary. These new foods and tastes led to a surge in recipe publications, some of which are kept safe in private libraries. Over the following few hundred years, the rich families of Wesstern Europe strove to lay on the most extravagent meals, and consequentially the best cooks and their recipes increased in prestige. However, it was during the 1800s that haute cuisine and recipe publications became popular. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, dedicated their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down the recipes of their peers. By the arrival of the 20th century, cooking publications are starting to become popular mostly as a result of better eduction, more leisure time and a general increase in wealth. The introduction of television brings us celebrity TV chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing everyone to search through thousands of recipes such as those found on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Chunky Vegetable Paella recipe.
