As promised, here is the first recipe from our Spanish cuisine cooking class at Milestone Culinary Arts Center:
Chicken and Sausage Paella
Yield: 15 Servings
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 2/4 lbs hot Italian sausages
4 lbs chicken thighs
2 large onions, chopped (about 5 cups)
10 garlic cloves, chopped, plus 1 garlic clove, minced
12 ounces tomatoes, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 bay leaves
3 red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
Generous pinch plus 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
2 1/2 cups rice or medium-grain white rice (about 17 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
2 cups clam juice
2 teaspoons paprika
Chopped fresh parsley
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large shallow pot over medium-high heat. Add sausages and saute until cooked through, turning often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add chicken, skin side down, to pot. Cover and cook until brown, about 6 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover and cook until brown and cooked through, about 8 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to bowl with sausages. Add onions and 10 chopped garlic cloves to pot; saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves; stir 2 minutes. Stir in bell peppers. Transfer to another large bowl.
Toss shrimp with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1 minced garlic clove and generous pinch of saffron in medium bowl. (Chicken-sausage mixture, vegetable mixture and shrimp mixture can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 375F. Brush one 18 x 12 x 2 1/4-inch roasting pan with olive oil. Mix rice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt into vegetable mixture. Spread rice mixture evenly in prepared pan. Cut sausages diagonally into 1-inch slices. Using wooden spoon, push sausage and chicken pieces into rice mixture; pour any juices from bowl over. Bring 5 cups chicken broth, paprika and remaining 1/4 teaspoon saffron to boil in medium saucepan. Pour evenly over rice mixture. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil. Bake until rice is almost tender, about 40 minutes.
Sprinkle shrimp mixture with salt and pepper. Arrange atop rice mixture. Cover pan with foil; bake until shrimp are opaque in center, rice is tender and most of liquid in pan is absorbed, about 10 minutes longer. To serve, sprinkle with parsley.