Mediterranean Stroganoff Fusion

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs of skinless chicken breast (2 large halves)
• 1 hot Italian sausage 
• 1 tsp of saffron
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 lb baby portabella mushrooms (sliced in half)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Chili powder
• 16 oz crushed tomatos (can)
• 1 Tbsp pepper paste (optional)
• 1 Tbsp Tomato paste
• 8 oz corn
• 8 oz heavy cream
• Parsley

Preparation

1. Pour some olive oil in the pan (two swirls) and cook sausage for about 5 minutes on high heat
2. Generously season chicken breast with salt, pepper, and chili powder
3. Remove sausage from the pan and set on cutting board.  Add more olive oil and cook breasts for about 3 minutes on each side
4. Remove breasts from the pan and set on cutting board.  Add more olive oil and on high heat add onions and garlic.
5. Meanwhile, slice the sausage and chicken into small bite size pieces (They are not fully cooked yet)
6. Add crushed tomatos, pepper paste, tomato paste, and, saffron, and salt over the onions and cook for about 3 minutes on high heat
7. Add mushrooms, chicken, and sausage to the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat
8. Add corn and cook and cook a couple more minutes
9. Taste for salt and check if everything is cooked thoroughly
10. Turn off the heat and add about 8oz of heavy cream and about a handful of fresh chopped parsley. 
11. Serve over rice and garnish with potato sticks and vegetable pickles

Experience

It can be hard to go out and buy all these ingredients.  Cooking doesn't have to follow a recipe.  It follows a few principles but in the end it's all up to your imagination.  I already had these ingredients because I use them frequently.  I didn't want to just make a Brazilian stroganoff. I wanted to infuse different tastes into it.  I had some sausage in the freezer, some saffron from my last paella, and some pepper paste from the pork a Alentejana dish I prepared a few weeks ago.  Mirella and I loved it!  We ate too much of it!  It took about an hour to make but that's only because I was cleaning up while I cooked and because I had bone in with skin chicken breasts I had to clean.  It'll be faster with tenderloins or boneless chicken breasts.  Also, if you don't have pepper paste from Portugal handy just don't use it.  The dish will still be great!  Just add something else to give it a bit of a kick.  Hot sauce would be okay but not too much.  The potato sticks are of high quality and they totally compliment the dish giving it a crunchy chew every time!  lol