CHICKEN & SAUSAGE PAELLA

Chicken & Sausage Paella image

To me this is more of 'throw what you have in your pantry in the pot' dish. I love making this dish. It is so easy & you can mix & match. Paella history comes from Spain and is normally cooked over an open fire in the fields & eaten directly from the pan using wooden spoons. Seafood is rare in the fields of Valencia, which is why they used chicken, rabbit, duck & snails. Snails was a popular meat back than, but NOOO snails for me!! A popular Paella dish today is seafood. As for me I like make chicken & sausage!! :) Hope you enjoy!!

Provided by Tricia Suyeto @ThymePlease

Categories Chicken

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

4 - chicken thighs, skinless and boneless
6 - sausage with casing on
2 - onions, halved & sliced
3 - tomatoes, sliced thick
2 tablespoon(s) garlic, minced
4 - carrots, peeled & sliced
1 package(s) sweet baby peas, frozen
1/2 - stick butter
2 pinch(es) saffron
5 cup(s) broth (from the chicken)
1 1/2 cup(s) rice
- salt & pepper, to taste

Steps:

To get started I like to cook the chicken in a separate pot with cold water, let it boil to cook the chicken. Take the chicken out & cut into large chunks. Set the broth to the side. In a large wide pan melt the butter, add the onions & garlic along with sausage with the casing still on, cook until the onion is translucent. Remove the sausage & cut into large chunks, the sausage will still be raw in the middle & set aside. Add the carrots to the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the broth from the chicken, strain as you pour it into the pot. Add all the chicken & the sausage to the pot, stir. Add tomatoes, peas & rice, stir until the rice is completely covered. Add more broth if not enough (don't forget to strain). Cover pan & keep boil for 5 minutes, add saffron. Break the large chucks of tomato with the back of the spoon. Cover pan last time for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally not to burn at the bottom. Taste to see if you need to add salt and pepper. Stir. Turn off heat & keep covered for another 5 minutes. The liquid will start to thicken and when you remove the cover it will be ready to serve.
NOTE: I prefer my sausage to have casing on it because it holds it together while cooking. I don't want to gross you out just yet, but the natural casing is the best try not to use the artificial. Also saffron is a bit expensive, but once you have it in your kitchen it will be a treasure you will always remember. Saffron comes from a flower called saffron crocus and the flower bares 3 stigmas which are the saffron stems. They are handed picked which are why they are so expensive. Saffron is the most expensive spice in weight. So enjoy them.