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Cheat’s butternut squash paella recipe

Cheat’s butternut squash paella recipe

35 ratings

A vegetarian twist on the classic Spanish dish, this autumnal butternut squash paella is an easy shortcut to a hearty midweek meal. Bring the flavours of Spain to your table with plenty of healthy vegetables packed in. See method

  • Serves 4
  • 10 mins to prepare and 35 mins to cook
  • 399 calories / serving
  • Healthy
  • Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 red onion, sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • ½ medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1cm cubes (about 400g prepped weight)
  • 1 vegetable stock cube, made up to 750ml
  • 300g paella rice
  • 300g frozen sliced green beans
  • 15g parsley, roughly chopped
If you don't have red onions, try using white, brown or spring onions

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    1685kj
    399kcal
    20%
  • Fat

    9g 13%
  • Saturates

    2g 8%
  • Sugars

    9g 10%
  • Salt

    1.2g 21%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 73g Protein 8.8g Fibre 6.5g

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a wide, shallow casserole or large frying pan over a medium high heat. Fry the onion for 6-8 mins until softened and lightly golden. Stir in the garlic and paprika, fry for 1 min, then add the butternut squash cubes and stir well to coat in the spices.

  2. Pour the stock over the squash and onions in the pan, season and bring to a simmer. Scatter the rice over the stock, stir briefly, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 mins, uncovered and without stirring, until the rice has absorbed most of the stock and the squash is tender when pierced with a fork. If all the stock has been absorbed but the rice is sticking to the bottom of the pan or it still has a crunch in the middle, add 100ml water and cook for 5 mins more.

  3. When the rice is tender, stir through the green beans and cook for another 3-4 mins until all the stock has been absorbed, and the beans are cooked. Scatter over the parsley to serve.

Tip: Make a soup with the leftover butternut squash by simmering cubes in stock with a softened onion, then blend with a little double cream.

See more Butternut squash recipes

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