Paleo Paella: Chicken, Chorizo & Mixed Seafood Paella with Cauliflower Rice

Paella is probably my favorite food.  I’ve told you the story of how I fell in love during a 2011 trip to Spain.  Not too long after we returned from that trip, recognizing my love of paella Courtney bought me a paella pan so I could make it myself.  That was nearly five years ago, and last night I used it for the very first time.

It’s true that paella is a special occasion food, a labor of love. But we’ve celebrated many special occasions over the past five years, so that’s not my excuse. The truth is, I’ve always preferred to leave the paella making to my Dad. It’s one of the few times I prefer being a sous chef.  Although I’m always skeptical with messing with the original when it’s something I love as much as paella, I’ve wanted to make a paleo cauliflower rice paella since I did the Whole30 back in 2014.  But again, I just haven’t had the occasion.  When I invited my dear friend Laura over for dinner during the final week of my second Whole30, I knew it was time to try it out (I’ve also told you about my and Laura’s love of homemade Spanish dinners). So I got out the paella pan, invested in the saffron (seriously, the price of this stuff rivals gold) and went about making my very first solo paella.

I really wasn’t sure how this would turn out, although my confidence grew alongside the aroma in our kitchen.  Any remaining concerns I had were washed away as soon as we took the first scoop.  The cauliflower ‘rice’ had caramelized on the bottom in the middle of the pan, just as it does with traditional paella.  The flavors were spot on.  The only difference was that it was much righter than the traditional version, so much so that the three of us nearly polished off this entire pan – with no guilt.

Paleo Chicken, Chorizo & Mixed Seafood Paella

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chicken broth, divided
• 1 pound mussels and/or clams, scrubbed clean
• ½ pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 12 ounces pre-cooked chorizo chicken sausage links*
• 2 chicken thighs, cubed (bones and skin removed)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced tomatoes, canned or fresh
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• A *Generous* pinch of saffron threads
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
• 1 large head cauliflower
• lemon wedges for garnish

*Whole30 compliant chorizo is very hard to find, as it usually includes sugar.  If your diet permits added sugars, Aidell’s and Al Fresco both have a chicken chorizo that doesn’t have a bunch of yucky additives.  I used Bilinski’s andouille sausage, which is Whole30 compliant. You can also use chorizo that is not pre-cooked, and cook it with the chicken. 

How To:

1. Before you start prepare all your ingredients. Chop your onions, dice your tomatoes, slice your chorizo, mince your garlic, cube your chicken and set in bowls so you a ready to go.  This will speed up your process and limit later frustration (thanks, Dad!) 
2. Place the cauliflower florettes in a food processor a pulse until it resembles short-grain rice; for a large head of cauliflower, I usually do this in 2-3 batches. Set aside.
3. In your paella pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown on all sides (If your chorizo is not pre-cooked, you also want to cook it at this point).
4. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, paprika, pepper, and saffron to your paella pan. Sauté for another 7 minutes until the onions have softened. 
5. Brown the sliced chorizo links in a separate skillet
6. Pour 1 cup of the broth into the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Stir in the riced cauliflower and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Bring the remaining broth to a boil in a medium sauce pan, then add the clams and/or mussels. Cover and cook for 6-7 minutes, until the shells have opened up (discard any that haven’t opened). Remove the shellfish with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, until pink. Set aside.
8. When the cauliflower is tender and most of the juices have evaporated, nestle the shrimp, clams, and mussels into the paella.  Top with the sliced chorizo.  Cook over medium-low heat for another 10 minutes then remove from the heat. *At this point you do not want to stir the paella at all – this will allow the bottom of the “rice” to caramelize just a bit*.
9. Let the paella stand for 5-10 minutes.  Top with lemon wedges before serving.

Serves 4-6

Johanna