Chicken stuffed with chorizo and wrapped in pancetta

 We've made this with chicken breasts too, but actually find the chicken thighs very easy and we think they actually taste much better.
If you want a really easy dinner that involves very little preparation but tastes amazing, then this is a really easy meal.
We've discovered that Waitrose sell amazing skinless and boned chicken thighs in large packs at very reasonable prices. They also sell packs of ready chopped chorizo crumb these come in pairs. So this dish is extremely simple to create.

Ingredients

1 pack of pancetta
6 chicken thighs
1 section of chopped chorizo

Method

Preheat oven to Gas 5.

Take a small roasting tray (I use a non-stick liner), but you may need to grease it if you don't.
Lay out the pancetta in 2's or 3's so the slices just overlap - (you need to count the slices and divide by 6). I don't leave any left and split the pancetta evenly.
Take one piece of chicken and lay along the first set of pancetta, starting at one end. Split the chorizo into six parts and pile one part onto the middle of a chicken thigh. Fold the chicken over to cover the chorizo, take the pancetta and start to roll it around the chicken, keep rolling as tightly as you can until the chicken is completely covered. Pop onto roasting tray. Repeat for each chicken breast. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
Leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Serve by slicing into 1cm slices.
I served with a mushroom risotto.

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Pancetta stuffed mushrooms

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pack of pancetta
2 large chestnut mushrooms (flat cap)
1 red onion chopped
1/4 green pepper finely sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1oz cheddar cheese grated

Method

Fry the onion and pancetta until onion is soft, add the chopped stalks from the mushroom, chopped tomato and the green pepper.

Pop the mushrooms cup up in a shallow oven proof dish, divide the onion and pancetta mix between the mushrooms, top with the grated cheese. Bake in a hot oven Gas 6 for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown.

Serve with a salad and crusty bread.

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Egg, bacon and mushroom fried rice

When hunger strikes and you don't feel like spending loads of time cooking, this is a great cheating meal for 2. It makes a great brunch. I use some ready prepared ingredients that we always have in the fridge or cupboard, plus other basic stores from the fridge.

Ingredients

1 pack of ready cubed pancetta/bacon bits 1 large Spring onion, finely sliced 1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped 1 large chestnut mushroom, roughly chopped 1 packet of ready cooked basmati rice 2 free range eggs, lightly whisked with a fork chopped fresh coriander (optional)

Method

Use a nonstick frying pan on a medium heat, pop in the bacon and frazzle until browning, add the spring onions and garlic and continue cooking for another minute, add the mushroom, cook for another minute. Add the rice, break down with a wooden spoon and fry for another 2 minutes. Scrape the rice to the edges and add the egg to the middle, keep stirring and start mixing in with the rice, continue cooking until all cooked and mixed in. If you like coriander, add this now and continue stirring in to rice. Serve You don't need any oil in the pan or salt as the bacon has enough of each.

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Bolognese sauce (ragu)

 Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 rashers streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces, or 1 pack of cubed pancetta/bacon lardons
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
500g/1lb minced beef
1 carrot, finely diced
1 tbsp tomato purée
100ml/ 1/4pt milk
1/4 nutmeg grated (use fresh, it's much nicer)
1 glass red wine (there won't be any alcohol left after cooking)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 oxo cube
Water
Salt and pepper

Method

Heat the oil on a medium heat in a large saucepan, add the onions and celery and gently fry until they are soft, add in the bacon and fry for about 3 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the garlic and minced beef, break up the mince as you fry it, it should start to crumble, fry until none of the mince is pink. Add in the carrot, tomato purée, nutmeg and milk, bubble until the milk has vanished. Now add the wine, again bubble until it has vanished. Sprinkle over the oxo cube add the tinned tomatoes and enough water to just cover the ingredients, season. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a very low simmer so that the odd bubble breaks the surface, cook for a good hour, stirring occasionally. At this stage you could pop this in a slow cooker and leave on low all day to cook.

Check seasoning and then serve.

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Pasta Carbonara

This is one of those recipes that is really quick to make and is great to rustle up when you have to fill starving kids. It is also great as a power lunch before rehearsals etc.
It is so easy, it's great as a dish for the kids to learn to cook. If you have leftover ham, use that instead of the bacon, it also doesn't need to be frazzled first either. I always have little packets of pancetta in the fridge, there's normally some double cream and parmesan is a staple. This makes a great starter or main course.

If you wish to make a traditional carbonara, then you can leave out the cream.

To serve 4
Ingredients
250g spaghetti or linguine (cook amount you would normally cook for 4)
150g cubed pancetta or streaky bacon cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs (free-range if possible)
150 ml double cream
75g parmesan cheese freshly grated
Salt and Pepper

Method
Put the pasta in to boil in lots of salted boiling water, check the pasta for timing, you want the pasta to be just al dente.
Whilst the pasta is cooking fry off the bacon/pancetta in the olive oil until browned.
In a bowl mix the eggs, cream and salt & pepper, beat well together.
As soon as the pasta has finished cooking, turn off the pasta and strain in a colander, return to the pan add in the egg mixture, toss through the pasta, the residual heat in the pasta and pan will cook it, throw in the parmesan and continue tossing, then add the bacon and toss through. It should be lovely and creamy and cling to the pasta. If the "sauce" seems a little too thin, carefully put the heat back on very low and toss carefully and quickly, you want it to thicken and not turn into scrambled eggs.

Serve. For a dinner party, you could serve with a green salad and some garlic bread.


You can also add sliced mushrooms when frying the bacon to make a change.

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