I was inspired by the cookbook Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie and Charles Mayfield (http://paleocomfortfoods.com/blog/). If you don’t have their book yet, it is a must! Anyway, they introduced me to “ricing” cauliflower with a grater and Paella immediately came to mind.
My husband and I visited Mallorca several years ago and one of my favorite evenings was when we rented bikes and found this little hole in the wall place that overlooked the ocean. We sat outside, drank Sangria and enjoyed Paella for the first time.
I know some people can be intimidated by cooking seafood, but just use what you like and/or what is fresh at your store. For instance, I generally use crawfish when I make Paella, but they weren’t available this time around. Also, peas are a common staple in Paella, but because they aren’t paleo-friendly, I chopped up asparagus to mimic the color and texture of the peas.
1/2 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
10 steamed mussels
1 calamari tube, cut into 1/4 inch rings
2 heads of cauliflower
Big pinch of saffron
1/2 pound of fresh chorizo
1 yellow onion, chopped
5 asparagus spears, chopped into pea-sized pieces
1 bell pepper (color of choice), chopped
1T olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
In a skillet, cook onion and chorizo for 4 minutes. Add in chopped asparagus and chopped bell pepper until onions are translucent and sausage is cooked. Put mixture on a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
Meanwhile grate the cauliflower and place in the same skillet that your cooked the sausage mixture. Add saffron, salt, pepper and 3/4 cup water. Cook lidded on medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove lid. Continue cooking for another five minutes. You should see the yellow color start to emerge from the saffron when you stir. Add sausage mixture to the “saffron rice” and gently stir.
In a pot, steam mussels for about 4 minutes in a boiling water. You really just need enough water to cover the mussels. Also, if you have any mussels that don’t open up in the steaming process, throw these out.
In another skillet, heat olive oil and add shrimp and calamari. Cook until the shrimp are opaque.
Arrange calamari, shrimp and mussels on top of the rice mixture. Serve in the skillet.
Enjoy!
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