Cauliflower Paella

Thank you all for your comments and for those asking for the recipe here it goes.  This was really a last minute make shift Paella with what I had lying around so I used the following

•1lb bag of Costco frozen cauliflower rice

•1 1/2 cups of Kettle and Fire organic chicken cooking broth

•1/4-1/2tsp Harissa

•1 tsp tomato paste

•1/4 cup tomato passata

•1/2 cup dry sherry or sherry cooking wine

•1 onion diced 

•1 red pepper julienned 

•4-5 cloves of garlic minced

Cubed organic sausage cut into 1cm cubes (I actually just used the organic paleo chicken sausage from Costco but you can also use the grassfed Kielbasa or Teton sausage as well)

Wild caught Argentinian red shrimp from Costco

Organic chicken thighs (I actually just used leftover grilled chicken thighs, you could also use the organic premade grilled chicken as well if you have it, if not then the bone in chicken thighs work best)

Pinch of saffron

spice rub (1tbsp paprika and 1tsp of onion powder, garlic powder, chipotle powder & roasted garlic pink Himalayan salt)

Pinch of chili flakes (optional)

Roasted Garlic Pink Himalayan Salt 

Pepper

1 sprig of thyme

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 lemon

1/2 cup of frozen peas thawed out.

Chopped parsley and fennel prawns to garnish (Any fresh herbs will work)

When it comes to Paella feel free to get as creative with the proteins as you can especially with the seafood. Generally speaking as a rule of thumb I like to use at least one protein from each chicken, sausage and seafood. Drizzle the chicken and shrimp with a little extra virgin olive oil, the spice rub, salt and pepper.  Note: (If using scallops  dry between paper towels and season them with salt and pepper just before cooking them in the pan otherwise the scallops will release their liquid and will just get rubbery instead of a nice sear).  Now I bring my stock to a simmer in a sauce pan and add the saffron when it is simmering so it can bloom about 5-10 minutes.  Note: (If you have any leftover seafood shells I would add them to the broth at this point as well to infuse it with seafood flavor). Place your pan over medium heat and get it nice and hot. Add about 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil and begin to sear the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side (If using leftover chicken like I did then you can skip this step and add your chicken at the end and it will fully heat through without drying with the broth).  Add your sausage and begin to render and crisp it a bit. Now add onions, peppers and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes at this point you can add the shrimp and season with a pinch of the spice rub, chili flakes, salt and pepper and sauté for about 2 minutes and remove the shrimp and set aside (They should not be fully cooked they will finish cooking with the residual heat as they sit and when we put them back into the pan).  You will want to have an oven set to 400 degrees so we can crisp up the chicken and warm up the seafood just before we’re ready to put it all together.  Add your cauliflower rice, tomato passata and tomato paste sauté it for about 5-10 minutes until the cauliflower rice has a golden color and is translucent.  Deglaze the pan with the wind and let it cook down for about 3-5 minutes and now you add the chicken broth and bring it to a nice simmer. Return the chicken to the pan and nest it into the cauliflower rice so it can finish cooking while the broth cooks down. At this point you can add your shrimp, peas and fresh herbs. As soon as your broth has cooked down and you have a consistency that your happy with its ready to serve.   For socarrat, you may have to crisp up some of dryer mixture from the top in a separate hot skillet with some avocado oil (I actually did not worry about the socarrat because I was just focusing on the flavors and the actual overall texture of the dish but I will update this recipe later on with the different techniques on getting that crispy socarrat. Enjoy!