Paella Rice Balls Filled with Tomatoes on Mediterranean Vegetables

Ingredients

• 300 g Paella rice
• Salt
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 100 g dried tomatoes
• 40 g capers
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (15 g)
• Pepper
• paprika powder
• 1 Shallot
• 2 yellow bell peppers
• 1 bulb fennel
• 250 g Cherry Tomatoes
• 0.5 bunch Parsley (10 g)
• 50 g Manchego cheese (30% fat in the mix)
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp whole grain breadcrumbs (15 g each)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Organic lemon

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook the rice in 2.5 times its volume of boiling salted water for 5 minutes over high heat, then simmer for 10–15 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes, and cool for 20 minutes.

2. 2.

   Meanwhile, peel the garlic. Finely chop the garlic, dried tomatoes, and capers. Mix with tomato paste, salt, pepper, and paprika.

3. 3.

   For the vegetables, peel and slice the shallot into strips. Halve, seed, wash, and slice the bell peppers. Clean and wash the fennel; cut into strips. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes, then slice them into rounds.

4. 4.

   Wash the parsley, shake dry, and finely chop it. Grate the cheese finely. Combine the cooled rice with half of the chopped parsley, cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper until a moldable mixture forms. Scoop small portions from the rice mixture, shape them into golf-ball-sized balls with damp hands, flatten slightly, place a spoonful of filling in the center, wrap it with more rice, and form 16 balls.

5. 5.

   Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan; brown the balls over medium heat for about 10–15 minutes until golden on all sides. Keep them warm in a preheated oven at 80 °C (convection 60 °C; gas: level 1).

6. 6.

   In the same pan, heat the remaining oil, sauté the shallots for 2 minutes over medium heat, then add the prepared vegetables and cook for 8 minutes on medium heat. Rinse the lemon hot and cut into quarters. Season with salt and pepper, arrange the balls on a plate, sprinkle with the remaining parsley, and serve with lemon wedges.