Chicken In Pancetta Food

ROASTED CHICKEN BREAST WITH PANCETTA, LEEKS AND THYME

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Put 1 chicken breast, skin removed, in a bowl. Trim and wash a large leek, remove the outer leaves, then slice it into 0.5cm/¼ inch pieces. Add these to the bowl with the leaves of a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a good lug of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a small swig of white wine and toss together. Place your leek and flavourings from the bowl into the tray, then wrap the chicken breast in 4 slices of pancetta. This will not only flavour the chicken but also protect it while it cooks. Try and bend the sides of the tray in towards the chicken so the leeks don't burn during cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, place a couple of whole thyme sprigs on top and cook in the middle of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH PANCETTA AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
• Toss chicken with oil, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, red-pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon pepper, rubbing mixture into chicken.
• Arrange chicken, skin side up, in 1 layer in a 17-by 11-inch 4-sided sheet pan. Scatter garlic and pancetta on top and roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Drizzle wine over chicken and roast 8 minutes more. Scatter olives over chicken and roast until skin is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes.

CHICKEN WITH PANCETTA AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick; turn heat to medium-high. A minute later, add pancetta, and cook, stirring occasionally, about a minute. Add chicken, skin side down, and turn heat to medium. Season with salt and pepper; scatter the garlic in the pan.
• Cook chicken, rotating pieces so they brown evenly. After 10 to 15 minutes, when skin side is brown, turn. Season again. Cook until nicely browned all over and nearly done. Remove to a plate, and put in oven.
• Remove all but 2 tablespoons of fat from pan. Add wine or water; raise heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of pan to loosen browned bits. When sauce is thick and glossy, barely covering bottom of pan, turn off heat, and stir in vinegar. Spoon sauce, pancetta and garlic over chicken, garnish with parsley, and serve.

CHICKEN IN PANCETTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 190C/fan 170C/ Gas mark 5. Lay one sprig of sage on each chicken breast. Wrap each chicken breastand sage in 3 rasher of pancetta. Lay in casserole dish.
• Place tomatoes around chicken breasts evenly in dish.
• Add the oil and balsamic vinegar.
• Season with salt and pepper. Cook in oven at for 35 mins. Serve with green beans and sauteed potatoes.

PAN COOKED CHICKEN WITH ASPARAGUS, PANCETTA AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Slice the chicken into 3 finger size pieces, but ensure that you keep it as 1 piece (fan it out). This will help to cook the chicken much faster. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a medium-sized frying pan, add some oil, and brown the chicken on all sides. Place the pancetta on top of the chicken and the asparagus around it, let it char a little, then put the pancetta on the bottom of the pan to crisp up and turn the chicken over. Turn up the heat, throw in the tomatoes, olives, basil, and a good knob of butter. Take off the heat once the butter has melted and add a splash of wine to make a sauce, squishing in a few of the tomatoes to finish it off.

PANCETTA CHICKEN WRAPS

Steps:

• Arrange a quarter of the pancetta slices in a row on a board, overlapping them slightly along their long sides. Put a chicken breast at one end so that it lies across the slices of pancetta, top with 3 sage leaves and sprinkle with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Wrap the chicken in the pancetta so that it is completely enclosed. Repeat to make 4 parcels altogether.
• Spoon the oil into a large heavy pan (a cast-iron sauté pan is ideal, or you could use a roasting tin). Put the pan on the barbecue and heat for 1-2 mins until hot, then lay the chicken parcels in the pan and cook for 7-8 mins on each side. The pancetta will become golden and crispy.
• Remove the parcels, lay the tomatoes in the pan and shake to coat in the cooking juices, then heat through for a couple of minutes. Return the chicken to the pan, take the pan off the heat and leave the chicken to rest in it for about 10 mins, so it will cut more easily.

PENNE PASTA WITH CHICKEN & CRISPY PANCETTA

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with cold water, add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil; bring to a boil.
• Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat; add 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté chicken until no longer pink. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels (keep warm).
• Sauté pancetta in a small skillet on low heat until crispy; drain on a plate lined with paper towels (keep warm).
• To a large-sized, heavy bottomed skillet add 3 tablespoons of oil; heat through. Add the garlic and sauté until slightly browned about 1 minute.
• Add the tomatoes, season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle the basil and oregano over the tomatoes; sauté for 3 minutes or until tomatoes are warmed through and skins slightly blistered.
• Cook pasta as directed, drain and add to the large skillet. Gently toss with the tomato mixture. Add the the cheese and parsley; give another toss. Top with the chicken and pancetta just before serving.

CHICKEN BALLOTTINES WITH SAGE & PANCETTA

Steps:

• Firstly neaten the ends of the drumsticks. Using a small sharp knife, make a cut all around each chicken leg, about 4cm up from the knuckle end. Holding the leg like a gun, squeeze it tight to pull the skin taut, then scrape down to the bottom of the bone to remove the tendons and clean the bone, turning the leg as you go (scissors are good for cutting the tendons). Now position your knife across the bottom of the exposed bone and bash the knife with a rolling pin or meat mallet - the bone will break smoothly.
• Lay the chicken legs skin-side down, pull the flaps of skin back and cut the flesh with a very sharp small knife on either side of the thigh bone using a shaving action. Once the bone is exposed, prise it out, then twist and snap it with your fingers to free it from the drumstick. If it doesn't snap clean you may have to cut it. You now have a part-boned chicken leg.
• Lightly sauté the mushrooms in a little hot olive oil for about 5 minutes until lightly browned, season well and leave to cool. Open out the boned chicken legs and spoon in the mushrooms. Cut the end off each chipolata and squeeze the sausagemeat over the mushrooms, using the chipolata skin as a piping bag. Push sausagemeat with your fingers right to the top of the thigh, then close the flaps and pull the skin across to secure. Now roll the legs over to make the parcels as neat as possible, then hold the exposed bone and straighten out each leg.
• Cut 4 sheets of foil (enough to wrap each chicken leg comfortably). Lay 6-7 rashers of pancetta down the centre of each sheet, overlapping slightly, then put the chicken legs crossways over the pancetta and top each leg with 2 sage leaves. Lift up the edge of the foil that is furthest away from you, bring it over the chicken and press down on the chicken, so that the pancetta comes away from the foil and sticks to the chicken. Repeat with the other side of the foil so the chicken legs are all wrapped in pancetta.
• Roll each leg in the foil, tucking it in and pressing it tight to the chicken to form a neat cylinder. Lift the cylinder up by the bone at one end and roll the foil at both ends, twisting to make a cracker shape.
• Preheat oven to fan 200C/conventional 220C/gas 7. Put the chicken parcels on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, turning them twice. Turning them like this ensures they will be evenly coloured. Turn the oven down to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4 and roast for a further 30 minutes, turning once. Remove and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Unwrap, tipping the juices on to a plate.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil and a knob of butter in a non-stick sauté pan until hot and foaming. Put the chicken legs in the pan and brown over a high heat on all sides, basting frequently and turning with a pair of tongs. As they start to brown, add a few small knobs of butter one at a time to the fat in the pan (adding the butter a little at a time keeps it fresh and prevents scorching). Lift the chicken legs from the pan and roll them around in the juices on the plate so they pick up a nice glaze.
• Cut the stuffed thigh meat of each chicken leg on the diagonal into 3 slices each. Don't slice the meat too thin or it will get cold. Spoon the polenta on to the plates, stand the drumsticks in the middle and lay 3 slices of stuffed chicken in front. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette and serve immediately, with roasted tomatoes on the side.