Southern Style Paella   

(Keto, Paleo, Low Carb, Gluten Free- options for Vegan and Regular Dieters)

Tonight I came up with a Paella dish that can be made Keto, Low Carb and Paleo plus a regular rice version for the gluten -free or regular eaters in your family.  Omit the meats and you have a nice vegan rice dish.   It was an easy one pan dish (two if you make it regular and low carb.)    I trial ran a new type of low-carb rice -  Daikon radish rice.    

 The ingredients

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 Bay leaves

4 mini red, yellow, orange peppers, diced

1 Tbsp Thyme

1 pinch saffron

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth (vegetable if you decide to make this vegan and omit the seafood/meat)

1 cup frozen peas

Parsley for garnish

2 cups cooked rice or 2 cups Daikon radish rice (instructions below) or both

18 Extra Large Raw Shrimp

18 Mussels cooked and cleaned - frozen section.

Natural Smoked Sausage 10 oz - sliced about 1 inch thick.

Start by cooking your rice or daikon rice.  I used a pressure cooker for ease and time. 1 cup rice and 1 cup water into the pressure cooker for 3 minutes and then a natural pressure release for 5 minutes.   The daikon radish can be cut and pulsed in a food proccessor until finely chopped.   Add the Daikon radish to the pressure cooker and cook for 2 minutes on high pressure.    Drain into a colander and press most to all of the water out of the radish rice.

I made my paella two different ways. 

To start: 

Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan until glossy.   Add the diced onion, garlic and peppers and saute for about 5 minutes.    Stir in the seasonings (bay leaves, thyme and saffron) plus the tomato paste and chicken broth.  Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes.

If making two different batches,   split the onion mixture in half and add to another saucepan.   Add two cups cooked rice to one saucepan and two cups cooked, drained daikon rice to the other pan.   Stir rice  and 1/2 cup peas into both pans.    You are now ready to add your raw, shelled shrimp, mussels and sausage to the pans.   Arrange in symmetrical pattern if you are anal like me!  Cover the pan and let simmer for about 6-8 minutes or until the mussels open and shrimp are pink and curl.   

Garnish with parsley.   I put the pan right on the table with this one. It is such a beautiful dish - just make sure to use a trivet or hot pad.

Rating:   3 out of 5 Hearts

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Comments:

Zach gave it a thumbs up and cleaned his bowl.    Lauren said she didn't like the Mussels as they tasted like "the ocean."  And my husband Marc suggested that the Daikon radish have more substance as it was mushy.   Overall,  I think this is a workable dish that is delish and healthy and fairly quick to put together.

Next Time:

The mussels didn't add much to the dish. Next time I'm going to try chicken, shrimp and sausage.   Marc suggested that I add something to thicken up the Daikon Radish rice to give it more of a glutenous texture.  I'm going to try adding some white chia seeds next time.   These will add Omega 3 fatty acids, fiber and texture without any added carbs.