Chicken and Pancetta Pasta

I was a hausfrau in Vienna.  My only job was caring for the apartment, doing the shopping and doing the cooking.  Nico was on his way home from work one night and I had not planned anything for dinner.  At the last minute, I went through my cabinets and fridge to see what I had and threw it together at the last minute.  This is a "use it up" dish.

It incorporates a lot of ingredients that we love.   Pasta, pancetta, mushrooms, white wine to name a few. Nico is not a big fan of chicken (well, unless its buffalo'd) but he is a good sport about chicken as long as its not a plain broiled chicken breast on a plate.   I probably would have been happy to do this with no protein, but I had it, so I put it in here.   For the pancetta, I've used sliced or cubed.  You could even substitute it for bacon if you are just trying to use

The sauce is more of a broth.  It lightly coats the pasta and the remainder falls to the bottom of the bowl and is really nice to sop up with some bread if you have it.   Its full of flavor, but very light.  This dish has become a go to in our home.   When I was prepping our freezer for the birth of our first baby, I made this and froze it.  

Chicken and Pancetta Pasta


8 slices pancetta (or 6 slices good quality bacon)
2 shallots, diced fine
10 mushrooms, sliced
1 breast of chicken, diced into bite size pieces
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, fry the pancetta or bacon until crispy.  Remove from pan and set aside to chop.  Do not clean the pan.   Using the fat from the pancetta, cook the chicken.   Once the chicken has browned, add the shallots, and turn down to medium, about 2 minutes.   Add the mushroom and sautee until they've released their liquid and are soft.

Add the chicken broth and wine.  Reduce by half while the pasta cooks.

Remove the sauce from heat and add a small pat of butter and a half cup of parmesan cheese to the sauce.   Then toss with the pasta.  Top with the chopped pancetta and a sprinkle of extra parmesan cheese.   Serve immediately.