Holy Sheet One Pan Paella
Come on a little adventure with me.
Where the days are warm and the nights are muy client. We’re in Alicante, Spain, and it’s the feast of San Juan. The cobble stone streets are lined with tables serving paella, tapas and flowing sangria. Alicante celebrated the coming of summer in this spectacular display of music, color and fireworks, and thousands of people throng the streets to experience this fiesta which pays tribute to fire. People are dancing to live music, singing, drinking more sangria and watching the enormous floats dance by. Young, mature and every age in between mingle in the spectacle, and we are taking it all in.
That was me, 25 years ago when I ‘accidentally’ happened to be there for the 3-day fiesta (what a lucky break!) and it was one of the most spectacular events of my life.
So I recreated the paella to relive the memories with a nice little hack – the blessed sheet pan and the miracle that is cauliflower rice. One pan to clean, everything’s cooked in less than 30 minutes. Is!!
It’s heavenly. The luxurious saffron, the lusty garlic, and peppery paprika swirl around the chicken thighs, chicken sausage, mussels and shrimp. If you don’t eat chicken, sub out for plant based, but please make it, ok?!
And don’t forget. The adventure can always continue in your kitchen, anytime. Just turn on the music and let the kitchen alchemy begin.
xMareya
Holy Sheet One Pan Paella
Serves 6-8
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons granulated garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 packages Taylor Farms Cauliflower Pearls
1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, liquid drained, cut into 1/4” strips
1/2 medium white onion, diced finely
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs
1 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups dry white wine (pinot grigio or dry chardonnay)
2 chicken sausage, sliced into 1/2” pieces
1 (15-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup Castelvetrano olives, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
12-16 mussels
1 pound medium wild-caught shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1/4 cup melted ghee
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped parsley and lemon wedges for serving
Eat Cleaner Seafood + Poultry Wash
Directions:
- Spray chicken thighs with Eat Cleaner Seafood + Poultry Wash thoroughly. Combine the paprika, black pepper and garlic powder in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix all over the boneless chicken thighs and marinate chicken for 1 hour, up to 12 hours, in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 400F. On a lined, rimmed 1/2 sheet pan, arrange cauliflower pearls evenly over surface of pan. Add roasted bell pepper, white onion, garlic and peas and lightly toss together. Arrange chicken thighs evenly over cauliflower rice mixture and drizzle EVOO over the top. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and add chicken broth and dry white wine over the mixture evenly. Add canned chopped tomatoes over the top along with chopped olives. Sprinkle saffron threads evenly over the top. Be as liberal as you can afford, and double the amount if you can – this really makes the flavor sing. Season with salt and pepper. Place back in over for 10 minutes.
- Spray mussels and wild caught shrimp with Eat Cleaner Seafood + Poultry Wash. Arrange mussels and wild caught caught shrimp on pan. Return back to oven and cook another 5-8 minutes, or until mussels have opened completely and shrimp has turned pink. Finish with melted ghee over mussels and shrimp. Top with chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
