Pancetta & Parmesan Chicken With Ravioli is the kind of thing I love to make for dinner at home with my husband. We’ll open a bottle of wine and have a date night at home without the hassle of navigating public transport, traffic or the crowds of the city. This dish looks and feels a bit special, but it couldn’t be easier to make. It’s pretty quick too, which means I can focus my time and energy on enjoying the wine and conversation rather than slaving in the kitchen until I’m sweaty and exhausted.
There’s not much to this dish really. There’s gorgeous flavour coming from the stuffing and the fat from the pancetta keeps the chicken moist while frying itself in the oven until it’s nice and crispy. The pasta is store-bought, although you could make your own if you’re so inclined. I prefer the M&S Made in Italy Parmesan Ravioli which can be found either on Ocado online or in most Marks & Spencer food shops, but you can use whatever you like. You could also skip the pasta altogether and serve this chicken alongside some mashed potatoes and the vegetable of your choice if you want to switch it up.
If you don’t have any baking paper or parchment, you can substitute foil or simply leave it out, but be warned – you will possibly have a very messy baking tray to clean up after so best to line it if you can.
It’s not terribly difficult to multiply this recipe, meaning you can impress friends and family when they come for dinner with a beautiful chicken dish that looks rather impressive. Your guests will think you worked so hard, but don’t worry – no one ever has to know how easy this recipe is to make. It can be our little secret. Let’s get started!
Serves 2
Ingredients
- Leaves from 2 sprigs of oregano, finely chopped plus more loose leaves for serving
- 25g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 15g panko bread crumbs
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 2 chicken breast fillets
- 10 thin slices of pancetta
- 250g cheese ravioli (or other cheese filled pasta of your choice)
- 30g unsalted butter
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220°C / 200° Fan / 425°F and line a baking tray with baking paper. Put a pot of water with a little salt and a drop of oil on to boil for the pasta.
- Add the chopped oregano, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and some salt & pepper to a small bowl and toss it together with your hands or a fork. This is going to be the stuffing for your chicken.
- Now lay out 5 slices of the pancetta horizontally, not overlapping, but touching each other from top to bottom. Sprinkle a quarter of the breadcrumbs mixture vertically down the centre of the horrizontal pancetta slices. Now place a chicken breast on top of the mound of stuffing and repeat with another 1/4 of the mixture.
- Starting from the top, you’re going to now wrap your chicken. Take one side of the pancetta length and cross it horizontally over the chicken and tuck it in if necessary, then repeat with the other side. It’s like you’re braiding or plaiting hair. Repeat this process all the way down the chicken and when you get towards the bottom, you might choose to bring those lengths upwards. The idea is to completely wrap the chicken as best you can, sealing that stuffing mixture inside with a little bit of a plaited design to make it look pretty. Make sure all ends are tucked in where they can be and the wrap is fairly tight.
- Place the wrapped chicken breasts onto the parchment lined baking tray and pop it into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pancetta is bronzed & crispy and the chicken is cooked through, then remove it from the oven and allow it to rest while you prepare the pasta.
- Boil the pasta according to packet instructions – usually only about 3 or 4 minutes – and then strain and leave in the strainer for a minute if you can. Melt the butter on medium-high to high heat (it’s okay if it sizzles or even browns a tiny bit) and when it’s all melted and sizzling, throw the ravioli back into it and toss it in the hot butter to coat before plating.
- To serve, plate the ravioli leaving some of the melted butter in the pan, dividing it between two plates or pasta bowls. Slice the chicken breasts on the diagonal if desired to show the beautiful layers and place them on top of the pasta. Drizzle over the remaining butter and sprinkle with some fresh oregano leaves.
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