This easy paella recipe is from the book, 400 Calorie Fix
The most important ingredients are the saffron, of course, and the clam juice, which is a shortcut for seafood stock. It really gives the dish a nice, authentic briney flavor.
Paella is one of those dishes that lends itself to endless variations, so feel free to switch up the meats or seafood, add different vegetables, or go full vegetarian by subbing more peppers and chickpeas for the meats (some smoked paprika would also help boost the flavor lost without the sausage).
From the book, "400 Calorie Fix" by Liz Vaccariello.
Ingredients
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 oz turkey kielbasa or sausage, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp saffron threads, lightly crushed
- 3/4 cup rice
- 1 bottle clam juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 16 Manzanilla olives
- 3/4 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 lb sea scallops
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and kielbasa. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saffron and cook, stirring often, 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the clam juice and 1/4 cup of the water. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes, olives, and remaining water. Cover and return to simmer. Cook for 15 minutes longer, or until the rice is nearly tender. Stir in the shrimp, scallops, and peas. Cover and cook 6-8 minutes longer, or until the rice is tender and the seafood is cooked through.
Notes
8 Weight Watchers Smart Points per serving
This week:
Remember when I said I had used up the “last” of the asparagus. Haha! Just kidding. D and I picked more last Sunday — some nearly as tall as she is! — and I served it for lunch with some wild oyster mushrooms (courtesy Butter’s dad!) and fried eggs. I also dusted them all in some truffle zest which was a very good idea.
Yes, some of those asparagus are nearly as tall as her!
Believe it or not, earlier this week we were toasting marshmallows in the back yard…
And then it SNOWED. Ah, Colorado, you minx.
Eats
On Saturday, we headed to our first visit to the Boulder Farmer’s Market of the year.
After perusing, we walked to Boxcar Coffee, where we enjoyed a little breakfast and then got a “cheesemonger’s choice” plate from Cured that we brought home for lunch.
With a loaf of their incredible crown bread and some rancho gordo bean salad, we had a wonderful picnicky lunch.
Cooking
After the farmer’s market, I was inspired to cook and use up some of the produce wasting away at home. I whipped up some pickled radishes from Eugenia Bone’s book, The Kitchen Ecosystem
I made banana walnut muffins to take advantage of some blackened bananas in the produce bowl.
And I caramelized a couple of onions with a fennel bulb that was going spare. We shall see how I put them all to use later this week.
