3 lbs chicken breast (from our first chicken coop I used frozen
thighs, drumsticks and one half-breast), chopped with a sharp knife
into 2-inch pieces
1/2 lb smoked spicy sausage such as andouille or hot links, cut into half-inch slices (I used local ham koubassa)
1/2 lb shrimp (I used 2 cans, large count shrimp, rinsed and drained)
4 Tbsp oil/butter/margarine mix, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green peppers
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
4 cans diced tomatoes with juice (I used 4 pint bags of frozen tomatoes)
2 cups long-grain rice
3 cups chicken stock (I used water and bouillon cubes. They didn’t sell canned or Tetrapak in those days.)
Small can tomato paste 6 ounces – 156 mls
1 Tbsp Tabasco Sauce
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground allspice (I accidentally used cinnamon, but threw in two pinches of nutmeg to try compensate!)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 425°F.
In a sauté pan, heat the oil (or butter or margarine), and fry the chicken until it has a nice scorch. Add the sausage to brown as well. Place the chicken and sausage in a large enameled roasting pan that has a tight cover. Add some water to de-glaze the sauté pan and added this liquid to the roasting pan.
Heat the remaining oil and sauté the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic until slightly crispy but still somewhat hard. Add to the roasting pan along with the rice, tomatoes with juice, chicken stock, tomato paste, and spices/seasonings. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Then, stir in the shrimp, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as needed, and if necessary add more water if the mix seems a tad dry. Cover and continue to bake for 15 minutes. Serve hot.