Story time! It’s a bit of a long story with lots of little details that matter, but I’ll try to keep it short because
P A E Â L L A .
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There was a bit of a learning curve when it came to preparing Low FODMAP food. I grew up in a family that roasts garlic most weeknights in the winter to spread on cracker and eat with cheese. Almost every recipe I knew requires either garlic or onions, many times both. Not cooking with these things felt almost sacrilegious. Eventually, I found a way to get over myself (I never claimed to be perfect after all). Now, I’m enjoying the process of reinventing old recipes to make them more IBS friendly because I know there have got to be other people going through the same thing we have.
That being said, I was really happy with the outcome of this low fodmap chicken & herb paella made with fresh herbs and crispy chicken. It takes a bit more preparation with the chicken, but it’s well worth the effort. The rice cooked in the stock and spices is simple yet flavorful, and the fresh herbs add a bit of punch to the dish on the whole. I can easily see this becoming a weekly staple in our house.
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Low Fodmap Chicken & Fresh Herb Paella
Fresh herbs, crispy chicken, and lots of flavor.
Ingredients
- 5 Boneless, skin on Chicken Thighs
- 2 tablespoons Garlic infused olive oil
- 2 cups (400 grams) Paella Rice
- 4 cups (1 liter) low fodmap friendly chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 4-5 threads Saffron
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 Lemon Zest and Juice
- 1 cup (150 grams) Peas
- 1 bunch Spring Onions, (green part only) chopped
- small handful about 1/3 cup of 10 g Fresh Parsley chopped
- small handful about 1/3 cup of 10 g Fresh Mint chopped
- small handful about 1/3 cup of 10 g Fresh Dill chopped
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs on a cutting board and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper on both sides.
- Warm a large pan/skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic infused olive oil.
- Add the chicken, skin-side down in the hot pan. Let the chicken cook, undisturbed for about 10 minutes or until the skin is golden brown.
- Once the skin side is crispy and golden flip over and cook the other side, an addition 5-10 minutes until fully cooked. Once cooked through, transfer to clean plate and set aside for later. Wipe down the pan removing any remaining burnt bits and excess oil. Set the pan aside as well.
- Rice prep: place the paella in a large pot and cover with stock. Add the lemon zest, half of the lemon juice, paprika, saffron, salt, and pepper. Bring the the pot to a simmer over a medium heat and let cook 15-20 minutes. Stir every so often.
- Stir the peas and remaining half of the lemon juice in to the rice.
- Transfer the rice to the skillet used to cook the chicken in along with the chopped herbs. Place the chicken back in the skillet with the rice and leave on the lowest heat setting and allow everything to rest for a couple of minutes before serving.
Sue says
Hi! I am wondering why you take the bones out of the thighs? Thanks.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Sue! I think it just came down to the fact that boneless thighs cook fast but you can absolutely use bone-in thighs here instead!
Shalena says
Used half of a regular chicken instead of using chicken thighs, it came out great.
Shalena says
Tried this recipe this week, came out fabulous. I used half of a regular chicken and used actual pigeon peas. Came out like a curried Palau. I added a few additional veggies to this dish. Didn’t get the usual overpuffed feeling that I get when I eat.
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! So glad you were able to enjoy it! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know how it went!
Helen says
Hi There,
I am on the low FODMAP diet and have been looking at your recipes, thank you for the inspiration! But I have a quick question, what stock do you use and where do you buy it? I was hoping there was one on the market so I don’t have to make my own from the beginning to avoid all the items as it is very labour intensive!
Sarah says
Hi Helen! I hope you’re finding the recipes helpful! When we ere still eating low FODMAP I know I struggled to find finds. Unfortunately low FODMAP stock wasn’t something I could ever find in a store. Everything had onion and garlic in it already. I used to make a giant batch of stock in my crock pot once every couple of weeks and freeze it to use as time went on. It’s still a bit tedious to make the stock, but at least that way I only had to do it every once in a while. After my husband had been on the diet for a few months, I was able to start using the costco brand organic chicken stock. It’s not low FODMAP, but he didn’t have any problems with it whatsoever.