Chicken and sausages pasta

We are a Dream Satellite subscriber. That means we don’t have the Lifestyle Channel. The rare times I am able to enjoy the network’s cooking programs, I try to make the most of it. We were at my brother-in-law’s apartelle room yesterday and while waiting for everyone to arrive to go out to dinner, we watched two cooking programs one after the other. I am not familiar with the chefs featured in Lifestyle Channel or the names of the programs. But there was this pasta dish that I was instantly enamoured with. A chicken and spicy sausage pasta dish. I was so taken with it that, on our way home, we passed by a 24-hour supermarket to buy the ingredients for the dish. Of course, I didn’t follow the recipe to the letter. There were some ingredients that I would have difficulty finding and some others that are way too expensive for practicality. So I improvised. Instead of the spicy Hungarian sausages, I used spicy smoked Philippine longganisa. I threw in a couple of bratwursts too for variety. Then, I ditched the balsamic vinegar and instead heightened the flavors of the sauce with MSG-free mushroom broth cubes given by a friend.

Ingredients :

250 g. of fettucine
1/2 c. of butter
1/4 c. of extra virgin olive oil
4-6 large chicken thighs
4-6 native longganisa (spicy variety)
2 bratwursts
2 tbsps. of finely minced garlic
2 large onions
6 plump tomatoes
3 pimientoes
broth
1/2 c. of tomato paste
1 tsp. of dried basil leaves (or 2 tsps. fresh)
salt and pepper

Cooking procedure :

Season the chicken with salt and pepper or, better yet, with herbed salt. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least an hour.

Cook the fettuccine according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. While hot, toss with 1/4 cup of butter. Keep warm.

Cut of the strings of the longganisa ang prick the skins with a fork. Cut each bratwurst into halves.

Roughly chop the onions and tomatoes. Deseed, core and roughly chop the pimientoes.

Heat the remaining butter with the olive oil in a skillet or any wide, shallow cooking pan. When hot, lay the chicken thighs in one layer, skin side down. Add the longganisa and bratwursts. Brown the chicken on both sides. Roll the longganisa and bratwursts in the hot butter and oil to brown evenly. Add the garlic, onions, tomatoes, pimientoes and basil. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables start to go limp. Pour in enough broth to cover. Add the tomato paste. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Remove the chicken pieces, longganisa and bratwursts with a slotted spoon or kitchen tongs and place on individual dinner plates.

Add the cooked fettucine to the sauce and toss to coat the pasta.

Add a heaping serving of pasta to the chicken and sausages on the plates. Garnish with more chopped basil leaves if you wish.

Serve hot.