Pancetta Wrapped Chicken with Couscous

  Posted on July 11, 2012  by Leslie Blythe  No comments

Pancetta is Italian bacon. It is pork belly meat that is salt cured, seasoned with such spices as nutmeg, fennel, peppercorns, dried ground hot peppers and garlic, then dried for at least three months.

Pancetta Wrapped Chicken with Couscous

Serves 4

20 fresh basil, leaves
12 slices smoked pancetta
4 chicken breasts
8 oz couscous
1½ oz dried apricots, chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
1 red onion, finely sliced
8 oz zucchini, finely diced
8 oz frozen fava beans, blanched and skinned
8 oz cherry tomatoes
4 oz tzatziki

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lay 4–5 basil leaves on top of 3 overlapping slices of pancetta and neatly wrap around 1 chicken breast. Repeat for the other chicken breasts.

Place the couscous and chopped dried apricots in a bowl and top with 1 cup boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the chicken for 3–4 minutes on each side, until the pancetta is crisp and the chicken is golden. Transfer to a baking tray and cook in the oven for 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and no pink remains, then leave to rest.

Meanwhile, add the onion and zucchini to the frying pan. Sauté for 10 minutes over a medium heat, then stir into the cous cous with the beans and tomatoes.

Serve the chicken with the cous cous and drizzle the tzatziki over the top.