Today the temperature barely hit 60 degrees, but my hubby was itching for any excuse to get outside on his Pit Boss Pellet Grill. I decided that I was going to also make it work for me by using the marinated grilled chicken in this tasty Portuguese Paella.
When we lived in Australia we used to frequent a Portuguese Chicken Restaurant called Nando’s, and my favorite dish was their Paella Grande. A mildly spiced rice with onion, garlic and red and green peppers, topped with their piri-piri marinated, char-grilled chicken breast.
Now as you might know, we are pretty well known on this blog for getting our Cauliflower Rice to NOT TASTE LIKE….Cauliflower Rice. Follow the rice preparation below for great results. We do find that Frozen Cauliflower works far better than fresh, but you can absolutely use fresh. You will just have to adjust the preparation times.
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 chicken breasts sliced in half.
- 1 9.2 oz bottle of Nando’s medium Peri Peri Sauce
PAELLA INGREDIENTS:
- 2.5 lb bag of frozen cauliflower rice (we use Green Giant Family Size)
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 1 green pepper (diced)
- 1 can Mild Rotel tomatoes with green chilies (drained)
- 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 4 TBSP olive oil
- spice mix (see ingredients below)
- juice from 1 lemon
SPICE MIX INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tsp salt (we use Redmond’s Real Sea Salt)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (if you don’t like a little heat, you can leave it out)
INSTRUCTIONS:
GRILLED CHICKEN:
- In a Gallon Size Ziploc Freezer Bag add the chicken breasts and the Nando’s Peri-Peri Sauce. Massage the sauce into the chicken thoroughly and allow to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 1hr, but 4hrs is best for optimum flavor.
- After marinating, remove the chicken breasts and pour the leftover marinade into a small saucepan with a little olive oil to loosen it up. Heat until just starting to boil. This can be used to baste the chicken breasts as you grill them.
- Grill the chicken breasts until cooked through or internal temperature reaches 160F with an instant read thermometer.
- Set aside and allow the chicken to rest. After resting, cut the chicken into bite size pieces.
PREPARING THE RICE:
- Place the bag of frozen rice into the microwave and steam for 18 minutes. Like we always say, every brand of cauliflower and every microwave is different, so start checking your rice for desired texture at around 15 minutes. We are looking for a rice like texture, not too al dente and definitely not mushy, because we still need to cook it a little more in the skillet.
- After the cauliflower is done in the microwave, lay a thin layer of cheese cloth in a metal colander/strainer, and empty the cauliflower into it. Tightly wrap the cauliflower with the cheese cloth and begin twisting, so that the cauliflower releases as much water as you can get out of it (Please be careful not to burn yourself, as the cauliflower and it’s liquids will be extremely hot). This step is essential for the texture when cooking it in the skillet, otherwise it will just boil and not sauté.
ASSEMBLING THE PAELLA:
- Add 4 TBSP of olive oil into a large nonstick skillet and heat on medium heat until oil is hot.
- Add in your onions and peppers and sauté until tender. Now add in your minced garlic and sauté for an extra minute, just to cook out the raw garlic flavor.
- Add in your prepared rice and stir in with the vegetables until rice is warmed back through.
- Sprinkle in your spice mix evenly over the rice, stir and make sure that it is well combined into the rice.
- Pour in your can of Mild Rotel with green chilies, and mix through.
- Add in your diced up grilled chicken and stir through until chicken is warmed through.
- Serve Family style onto a large dish and squeeze the juice of a large lemon onto the rice.
- Serve with an extra drizzle of Nando’s Peri Peri Sauce. (I always keep a spare bottle for drizzling, it’s great on eggs too)
- ENJOY!!
PRODUCTS WE USE:
- KITCHEN AID MEASURING SPOONS/CUPS
- PIONEER WOMAN CUTTING BOARD
- PIONEER WOMAN KNIFE SET
- ZIPLOC GALLON FREEZER BAGS
- PIT BOSS HICKORY PELLETS
- PIT BOSS WOOD PELLET SMOKER
- THERMOPRO DIGITAL MEAT THERMOMETER
- T-FAL NONTICK 5QT JUMBO SAUTE PAN
- LE TAUCI SOUP BOWL
AMAZON ASSOCIATES
Cooking Keto With Faith is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Cooking Keto With Faith 
One thought on “Nando’s Style Portuguese Paella”