Serves 4
An easy, all in one pan recipe for delicious Paella that’s made healthier with quinoa instead of rice. I like using quinoa because of its numerous health benefits. Quinoa beats rice with its impressively high fiber, protein and iron content as well as many other nutrients. It cooks the same way as rice: 1 cup quinoa + 2 cups liquid. It’s a great substitute in paella as it gets infused with all the different ingredient flavors. In terms of seafood, you can use whatever you like. If you’re not a seafood fan, feel free to use meat or chicken instead.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 ½ teaspoons saffron threads
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 3 cups chopped tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups shitake or sliced cremini mushrooms
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1-2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 12 ounces peeled cooked shrimp
Preparation:
- Combine wine and saffron in a small bowl and let stand until ready to use.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over low-medium heat. Add tomatoes, onion and garlic and cook, stirring often until fragrant, about 7-9 minutes.
- Add mushrooms to skillet. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms release juices, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add wine-saffron mixture to skillet and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add quinoa and while stirring occasionally, cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
- Add vegetable broth, salt and pepper to skillet. Stir well and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until quinoa is almost tender, about 20 minutes.
- Gently stir spinach into paella and add the shrimp. Cover and cook until shrimp is heated through, about 3-4 minutes.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!