I love paella. It brings back memories of sipping Sangria and eating paella and tapas. Lovely!

This Easy Paella Recipe is not for an authentic Spanish seafood paella. This recipe has a twist. It features freekeh rather than rice, for an easy and healthy version on fresh seafood paella. It also features flavors inspired by Latin American food for a fusion of new world and old world flavors!

I have been curious about how to cook and eat freekeh. Though my involvement in the Sweat Pink Ambassador program and Fit Approach, I had the opportunity to try freekeh for the first time. Freekeh Foods sent samples of freekeh to taste and review.

By the way, freekeh is an ancient, whole-grain superfood. It is produced from roasted green wheat.  It does contain gluten, so would not be suitable for those with gluten sensitivities.

Easy Chicken & Seafood Freekeh Paella Recipe:

I’ve been obsessed with ceviche lately. I decided to make a paella with a slight Latin American fusion. The seasonings are ceviche inspired and I used a chipotle seasoned chicken sausage for a bit of spice.

It is loosely inspired by more traditional paella I made in the past, my interest in ceviche, and by this recipe from Freekeh Foods: Freekeh Foods Paella Recipe. The lovely thing about paella is you can be creative. If you don’t eat chicken (or sausage) leave it out! If you prefer different seafood (or tofu, or whatever) — follow your bliss!

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Freekeh Paella Recipe #LoveFreekeh

Prep Time: 8 hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 8 hours, 30 minutes

Yield: 2-3 for ingredients listed, double to serve 4-6 people

This recipe doesn't really require as much cooking time as you might expect.

I started the Ceviche inspired marinade the night before or early in the morning.

The freekeh takes about 25 minutes to cook and during that time I do all the other prep work and most of the cooking.

Ingredients

• .5 pound raw shrimp
• .5 pound cod
• juice of 2 limes and 1 lemon
• .25 cup cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 onion
• .25 cup peas
• 3 chicken sausages
• 1 cup uncooked freekeh (roasted green wheat)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• .25 teaspoon of saffron
• 5 cooked new potatoes
• dash ground pepper
• 4 mushrooms
• 1 red pepper
• 1 teaspoon Spanish paprika (hot smoked)

Instructions

The Night Before or In The Morning Prepare the "Ceviche" Inspired Seafood:
1. Juice lemon and limes into a glass bowl.
2. Add minced fresh cilantro and olive oil.
3. Marinate peeled and cleaned shrimp and white fish overnight or for several hours. This isn't a true ceviche as we will cook the seafood, but if you marinate long enough you may end up with Ceviche.
Start Cooking the Freekah 30 minutes Before You Serve
4. I cooked the freekeh in a chicken broth with saffron. I used .25 teaspoon of saffron. I dissolved the saffron in a cupe of hot water.
5. Then I combined the water and the chicken broth.
6. Next, add the uncooked freekeh... The suggested ratio is 1 cup of freekeh to 2.5 cups liquid. I was a little skimpy on the liquid and used 1 cup water (with safron dissolved) and 1 cup chicken broth. I added the dry freekeh and cooked for 25 minutes until the freekeh was soft.
While Cooking the Freekeh:
7. Cook sausages in a shallow iron pan then set them aside
8. Cut onions, garlic, bell peppers and cooked new potatoes into small bite sized pieces. Add to the iron pan and cook (while sausage is set aside).
9. Slice cooked sausage into bite sized pieces
10. Add the seafood"ceviche" and sausage to the pan. Sprinkle Spanish paprika on the seafood, add more cilantro if you wish and cook.
11. Add peas and sliced mushrooms
12. Add the freekeh to the pan once it is done and cook everything together for about five minutes (long enough to join flavors and to cook the peas and mushrooms).
Serve!

Notes

Inspired by my previous paella recipes and adapted from http://www.freekeh-foods.com/recipes/dinner-party-freekeh-paella

I used an iron Dutch oven to cook. In the past I used a wok. I do not have a paella pan, but find the Dutch oven works well even if it is not traditional.

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About Freekeh & Freekeh Foods:

What is Freekeh?

According to Freekeh Foods:

“So glad you asked! Freekeh is a process which means “to rub” in Arabic. Freekeh was created by accident nearly 2,000 years ago when a Middle Eastern village was attacked and their crop of young green wheat was set ablaze. Most folks would sulk over their misfortune, but the crafty villagers rubbed off the chaff, cooked it up and “Eureka!” Freekeh was created. We’re proud to offer you this tasty, nutritious ancient grain with a funny name.”

(Source Freekeh Foods publicity materials)

A Little About Our Sponsor, Freekeh Foods:

Freekeh Food’s offers USDA certified organic, non-GMO freekeh. The organic Freekeh I received was grown in the USA according to the product label! Freekeh Foods is a small company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While I participate in the global economy, I am especially impressed with quality products that are made in America!

To learn more about Freekeh Foods, visit their website for information, store locator and recipe ideas! www.freekeh-foods.com

You can also find Freekeh Foods on Social Media:

• On Twitter @freekehfoods
• On Facebook Freekeh-Foods
• On Instagram @freekehfoods