Paleo Paella

Paella (pie-Ay-ya) is an old Spanish dish that my fiance and I were lucky enough to try while in Barcelona. This picture is from our trip when we tried some squid ink paella.

From Barcelona

I've never actually made regular paella let alone paleo paella, but it seemed like it could be done. It was either going to turn out to be a complete failure or a success, and I'm happy to tell you that it wasn't an epic paleo-fail. This recipe takes a little under an hour, so it's not fast, but it can be done on a weeknight.

Here is what you need:

From Paella

Starting at the mussels at the bottom: 1 lb of mussels (4.99), 1 orange ancient pepper(0.25), 1 red ancient pepper(0.25), 4 cloves of garlic (0.08), one can of diced tomatoes (1.59), cauliflower (2.34), parsley (0.05), 1 yellow onion (1.00), 1 lemon (0.25), paprika, 2-3 lbs of chicken thighs (3.24), 8 large shrimp (4.99), and (not pictured) a hot sausage (2.16)- we used a hot Italian sausage (salamini) our deli guy recommended. That's a total of 21.19, or roughly 4-5 dollars per serving. This is one of the pricier meals I've made, but it is worth it, I promise.

I prepped all the veggies and meat before starting to cook. It makes life a lot easier and I don't feel as rushed as I cook. You'll need to grate the cauliflower, grate the garlic as well as chop the onions, pepper, and sausage. This is also a good time to clean off the mussels. Just put them in a strainer and run your fingers over the shells, removing anything you can. If any of the mussels are open and don't close if you tap them on the counter, throw them away. They're dead.

From Paella

Use the larger holes on your grater.

From Paella

From Paella

Cut the sausage into half circles.

Once all the chopping and cleaning is done, start by frying the chicken thighs in some olive oil. Make sure the oil is nice and hot so that you get a good sear on the chicken.

From Paella

From Paella

When the chicken has a good sear on each side (about 6 minutes on the first side and only about 4 on the second), set the chicken aside. Use the oil and chicken fat to fry up the onions, sausage, and peppers.

From Paella

When the veggies are golden brown add the garlic. Make sure to keep stirring when the garlic is in the pan. You don't want the garlic to sit around a have a chance to burn. Garlic gets really bitter when it burns.

From Paella

Stir for about 2 minutes, then you'll add the chicken back in along with the tomatoes and a handful of paprika.

From Paella

Stir in the paprika and bring that up to a boil. Once it starts to bubble, add a lid and put bring heat down to about half. As that simmers, start heating up some olive oil in another pan. When that is hot, add the grated cauliflower. It will take a while for the cauliflower to turn brown which is fine because the paella needs to simmer for a while. Keep stirring and just don't let the cauliflower burn. Eventually it will turn brown.

From Paella

When it is brown, add 100 ml of chicken stock and wait for it to evaporate. When it does, your cauliflower is done. Just set it aside.

From Paella

It should take about 20 minutes for the cauliflower to be ready, so it's the perfect timing to get back to the paella. It can't really simmer too long with the lid on, so don't get stressed if it's taking your cauliflower longer to cook or if you have to do it in batches.

From Paella

Now is the time to add the mussels. This is the perfect time to double check for dead guys. They'll be the ones that are open and won't close when you tap them on the counter. Throw them away.

From Paella

From Paella

Add the mussels to the mix and put the lid back on. The mussels will open up in about 2 minutes. At this point, add the shrimp and wait another 2 minutes.

From Paella

Remove the lid and that's it! You've just made paella. Don't you feel classy? Not yet? Ok, add some parsley and lemon then, Mr. Belivedere. Now you're first class all the way.

From Paella

Thai Soup: Tom Yung Goong

My fiance and I were fortunate enough to get to travel all around the world teaching English for a year. One of the countries we went to was Thailand and while there, I fell in love with a soup called "tom yung goong."

From Tom Yung Goon

It's a hearty coconut based curry soup. Don't leave yet! I don't usually care for coconut. I don't like pina coladas and I hate Mounds, but I love this soup. After a few weeks on a paleo plan, I realized that this soup was completely paleo from beginning to end, so I taught myself how to make it. This is a more involved recipe and takes a little time, making it a perfect weekend project.

Here is what I used:

From Tom Yung Goon

Let's start at 6:00: Cocounut milk (1.09), 1 chicken bouillon cube (0.10), 1 lb of chicken breast (2.99), 10 sprigs of cilantro (0.10), 3 limes, 1 yellow onion (0.60), 1/8 cup of tumeric (0.05), 2 tbs fish sauce (0.10), 1 tbs sesame oil (0.05), lemon grass (0.99), 1/2 a package of button mushrooms(1.15), cauliflower (1.39), and 2 jalapenos (0.17). not pictured: 1 tbs of coconut oil (0.15)

That's a total of 8.93 and I got 4 servings from this batch, so that's a total of about 2.23 per bowl.

This recipe seems really complicated, but it's really just a matter of getting everything in the picture above mixed in a pot and letting it boil for about an hour, so don't be intimidated!

The first thing you'll need to do is chop up the onions. Start simmering those with 1 tbs of coconut oil in a large pot.

From Tom Yung Goon

From Tom Yung Goon

While those sweat, deseed one jalapeno and half of the other. Leave the seeds in half of a jalapeno for some heat. If you don't like spicy food, get rid of all the seeds. Chop those and add them to the pot. Next, chop and add the mushrooms. Finally, throw a tbs of sesame oil on all of that and stir it up. As these release their water, they'll create a little stock for our soup.

From Tom Yung Goon

Next, roughly chop up the cauliflower and add that to the pot. Mix up your pot to make sure there is a little oil on most of the veggies so they don't burn. Make sure the heat is on low.

From Tom Yung Goon

Mix 1 cup of hot water with the chicken bouillon and add that to the pot.

From Tom Yung Goon

(You probably didn't need a picture of that....oh well)

As that comes to a boil, fry up your chicken breast and set it aside to rest.

From Tom Yung Goon

Next, we need to get some flavor from the lemon grass. If you can find fresh lemon grass, just cut it, bruise it (crush it), and add it to the pot. It isn't edible, so make sure you pull it out before serving. If, like me, you have a hard time finding fresh lemon grass, you'll need to buy it dried. I like to boil it in water for a couple minutes to release the flavor. I use an emptied tea bag so I don't have to look for 100 pieces of dried lemon grass in the soup. I used the same pan as the chicken, hence the chicken bits in the water.

From Tom Yung Goon

From Tom Yung Goon

From Tom Yung Goon

Once the water turns yellow, dump all of it into your pot.

Now, stir in a can of cocounut milk and 2 tbs of fish sauce (yes I know it stinks, but it adds necessary flavor). Next, add 1/8 of a cup of tumeric in small amounts, stirring it in as you go so it doesn't clump up. Tumeric will stain anything it touches, so be careful. If you aren't careful, you'll look like you washed your hands with French's mustard.

From Tom Yung Goon

Finally, zest the 3 limes into the soup and mix in the cilantro.

From Tom Yung Goon

It will be about an hour before it's ready. It needs to boil on low heat until the cauliflower is tender. While this batch was boiling, I found a tomato that was about to go bad, so I added that to the mix. I like to make soups towards the end of the week to help use up ingredients that may go bad.

It's been an hour. Here is what your finished product will look like.

From Tom Yung Goon

**When serving, stir in the juice of half of a lime and some fresh cilantro. This last step is the most important as it makes the soup taste fresh and cuts through all of that coconut fat.

This recipe is also made with seafood, so feel free to experiment and get back to me with the results!

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Leftovers for Breakfast: Portabella & Chive Omelette with Cauliflower Pancakes

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

Part of what I hope to do with this blog is give some real life applications of things that I've learned during my own personal primal journey. If you want to keep yourself motivated and excited about your next meal, I suggest you take advantage of leftovers.

If you made last night's recipe of Gorgonzola Burgers and Mashed Cauliflower, then you may have some leftovers. The best part about leftovers is that a lot of your prep for a new meal is already done. Here's what you need to get ready:

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

Clockwise from 9 o'clock: Sauteed portabella mushrooms (cooked in beef fat from the previous post), Olive oil *I called an audible and switched it up to coconut oil while cooking - I liked the flavor, but my fiance hated it, pepper, salt, green onions, eggs, and leftover mashed cauliflower

Roughly chop up the mushrooms. I like big chunks because they help give the omelette some much needed texture.

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

Beat the eggs and start those in a greased pan on low heat. Preheat your broiler at this time, you'll need it in a few minutes. Patience is the key with good eggs. You have to cook them over low heat to keep them from burning. This also keeps the fats and proteins from oxidizing - some science stuff for a later post. My fiance cooked the eggs and she has her own method, using a spatula to stir the eggs as they cook. I have my own method that I'll cover in the future.

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

Once the eggs are about 80% cooked and there is only a little liquid at the top, add the mushrooms, chives, and any other veggies you want to add. Finish the omelette off in your broiler

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

Finish the eggs off in your broiler until they are cooked through. I don't have any problems with runny or raw eggs, but I know most people don't care for them that way.

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

For the cauliflower pancakes, add one egg yolk to about a cup or so of the cauliflower mash from last night. Mix that up well as the yolk is what will hold the pancake together. If it feels too loose, add another yolk, but don't get too crazy. Mix that well and throw it into a skillet with some coconut oil or the oil of your choice. Be careful when flipping so that you don't let the delicate pancake fall apart. I like to use a ridiculously oversized spatula.

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns

Alright, that's it. Plate it up and eat. I'll be honest, it's not the most exciting recipe, but sometimes it's nice to have some direction or new ideas. The pancakes will be brittle, but they're an interesting breakfast side to try.

From Portabella Omelette with Cauliflower Hash Browns