Paella

Servings: 8

1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups boiling water
2 ⅓ cups vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup julienned green bell pepper
¾ cup julienned red bell pepper
1 10 ounce package frozen baby lima beans, thawed
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon ground oregano
¼ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
pinch of saffron threads
1 15 ounce can water packed artichoke hearts, drained, sliced in half
1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Place the rice and boiling water in a bowl. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes, while preparing the remaining ingredients. Drain off water and set aside.

Heat the vegetable broth to boiling. Place ⅓ cup of the vegetable broth in a large slope-sided sauté pan (or use a wok). Add onion and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes until onion softens slightly. Add peppers, lima beans and tomatoes. Cook and stir for another 3 minutes. Add the remaining hot vegetable broth and the drained rice. Stir in the oregano, salt, red pepper flakes and saffron threads. Bring to a boil, reduce heat , cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add artichokes and peas. Mix well, remove from heat, cover and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.