I love paella and I have been making it healthier by changing out the rice for cauliflower rice and quinoa. I also have used low sodium chicken stock added a poblano pepper to spice thing up a bit. One more thing that is important to use is a good chorizo with lots of smoked paprika so you get that flavor. Then last change I make from the classic version is that I used less water to get the crusty rice texture that is so famous with paella. Now if you own a paella pan that works great but I down own single use pans so I just used my biggest pan and it did get crowded.
2 cups cauliflower rice
1 1/2 cup quinoa
1 pound chicken thighs salted and peppered
1/2 pound chorizo sausage (I like Spanish)
1/2 pound littleneck clams scrubbed
1/2 pound mussels cleaned
1/2 pound of shrimp peeled and deveined
1 red onion diced
2 cups chicken broth
2 cup water
1 can 15 oz crushed red tomatoes
1 bunch parsley chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 poblano pepper diced
1 pinch saffron threads
2 tablespoon oregano
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
Ok you caught me I know you saw the crayfish I has some I used them.
In a paella pan or large pan frying pan
Slice chorizo in large pieces add to pan brown and remove Add olive oil brown chicken in the chorizo oil
Add onion and poblano
Bloom saffron in chicken stock and water
Add tomatoes to pan and oregano
Add chicken stock and saffron water to pan
Add cauliflower rice and quinoa let cook for 20-25 minutes
Add shellfish cook until open about 7-9 minutes
Add shrimp they should take about 7 minutes
Add crayfish they just warm thru I used cooked
Add parsley
Add peas
Toss any clams or mussels out that didn’t open during cooking.
Serve