Mark Bittman’s Paella With Lots of Vegetables Recipe

Directions

Heat the oven to 450°F. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and salt it. Put the tomatoes in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; toss gently. If you’re using canned diced tomatoes, drain them and reserve the liquid. Don’t add any salt, just pepper and oil.

When the water boils, stir in the rice and adjust the heat so that the water bubbles steadily. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 12 minutes, then drain thoroughly.

Put the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or 12-inch paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the green beans, bell pepper, and eggplant to the skillet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring once in a while, until browned in spots but still crisp, 5 to 10 minutes; add more oil if the mixture looks too dry. Transfer to the bowl with the onions and toss to combine; taste and adjust the seasoning.

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Add the rice to the skillet and stir until it’s shiny and toasted, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, paprika, and saffron and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add 2 cups vegetable water; stir gently to combine. The rice should be submerged by 1/2 inch; if not, add a little more liquid.

Scatter the browned vegetables and the tomatoes on top; drizzle with any accumulated juices; add 2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid if you’re using canned tomatoes. Put the skillet in the oven and cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. The rice is ready when it’s dry and just tender. If it’s not there, return the skillet to the oven for another 5 minutes. If the rice looks too dry at this point, but still isn’t quite done, add a little more liquid and return to the oven; check again in 5 minutes.

When the rice is ready, turn off the oven and let it sit inside for at least 5 and up to 15 minutes. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

Variation

To make Paella with Tofu, Tempeh, or Seitan and Vegetables, before Step 3, slice or crumble up to 1 pound firm tofu, tempeh, or seitan. Toss it with an extra 2 tablespoons of olive oil for cooking and sprinkle with salt and pepper. After scattering the vegetables and tomatoes over the rice in Step 5, add the tofu, tempeh, or seitan, nestling the pieces into the paella just a little so they’ll brown and crisp while the rice cooks. Then finish the recipe as directed.

Excerpted from the book How to Cook Everything Vegan, provided courtesy of Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright © 2026 by Mark Bittman. Reprinted by permission.