Chicken Thighs And Pancetta Recipes

PROSCIUTTO WRAPPED ROSEMARY CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Heat a double burner grill pan, griddle pan, or outdoor grill over medium-high heat.
• Pour about 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil into a shallow dish and add the garlic.
• Strip the leaves off a sprig of rosemary and finely chop, about 1 tablespoon. Add the chopped rosemary to the bowl with the garlic and oil. Break the remaining rosemary up into 8 small sprigs about the size of the chicken pieces.
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, to taste, and add them to the garlic mixture. Turn to coat. Wrap the chicken pieces in prosciutto, securing the ham with a sprig of rosemary as you wrap. The sprigs should stick out a bit at the edges of the ham. Drizzle the chicken with more oil and grill for 12 minutes, turning occasionally.
• Serve 2 pieces of chicken for each serving, along with some lemon wedges for squeezing over the top. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve.

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 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.

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.

SHEET-PAN CHICKEN WITH JAMMY TOMATOES AND PANCETTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Season chicken all over with salt, and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Smash all the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and peel them. Finely grate one garlic clove and put it in a small bowl. Stir in the 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, paprika, oregano, brown sugar (if using) and cumin. Pour over chicken, tossing to coat.
• Add tomatoes and remaining smashed, peeled garlic cloves to baking sheet, spreading them out around the chicken. Season tomatoes lightly with salt and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Scatter pancetta on top.
• Roast until chicken is golden and cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes. After 15 minutes, stir the tomatoes and pancetta, but don't disturb the chicken.
• Transfer chicken to plates. Stir the tomatoes and pancetta around in the pan, scraping up all the delicious browned bits from the bottom and sides, and stir in the herbs and black pepper to taste. Taste and add salt, if needed, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, if you like. Spoon tomatoes, garlic and pancetta over the chicken to serve.

CRISPY PANCETTA CHICKEN WITH SAGE

Steps:

• 1. Wash and dry the chicken. Remove the tenderloin and set aside for another use. Season both sides lightly with kosher salt and pepper. Using a fork, spread the roasted garlic, if using, all over the chicken breasts. On the top side of the breast, lay 1 slice of pancetta over the lower portion of the breast, wrapping it snugly so it adheres. Lay a sage leaf on the center of the breast, and wrap the upper portion with a second slice of pancetta. Turn the breast over and wrap a third slice of pancetta over the back of the breast. Repeat with the remaining chicken, transferring the pieces to a plate as you go. (The chicken can be made in advance up to this point. Just wrap tightly in plastic wrap & refrigerate.).
• 2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 3. Toss the potatoes, lemon, 10 sage leaves, oil, and a pinch of kosher salt and pepper in a large bowl until well coated.
• 4. Meanwhile, heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan over high heat until it is very hot. Drizzle the pancetta-wrapped chicken with oil and place in the pan with the sage leaf side down. Cook over high heat until the pancetta is brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the breasts over and transfer the pan to the upper rack of the oven for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
• 5. Remove the chicken from the pan, transfer to a plate and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the wine over high heat. Reduce the wine until almost evaporated, and add the chicken stock. Continue to cook until reduced by half.
• 6. Transfer the chicken to a large platter.

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.

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.