Pancetta Magic

I'm writing this on a Thursday night and the week is nearly over. I have a busy weekend, and the work week has been crazy...weird.

Chicken with Peppers, Piedmont Style on page 243 of Faith Willinger's Red, White and Greens cookbook sounded different...not your stereotypical Italian thing.

The recipe called for pancetta though, and I wasn't sure I could find some in my tiny town. There are only one or two places that might have heard of pancetta, let along actually carry it. I really did not want to use bacon as a substitute in this recipe. I did find the pancetta at the second store - whew!

I minced an onion, some celery, carrots, a garlic clove, and pancetta, then placed in a dutch oven with olive oil and rosemary. This I set on to simmer until lightly browned.

In the meantime, I sauted two chicken breasts and chopped up a red pepper and tomato.

When the chicken was browned, it went into the pan with the onion/pancetta mix along the chopped peppers and tomatos. And then the spices? No basil and oregano here, folks. Instead, the recipe calls for a pinch of cloves and a pinch of cinnamon. I stirred in the spices and walked away for as long as I could stand it.

The house smelled fantastic. Periodically I stopped by the stove to stir and smell. After about  30 minutes, I removed the chicken to the cutting board and sliced. I arranged the chicken and added a small bit of the sauce.

After I snapped the picture, I added a lot more pepper and dug in. The chicken was a little dry, probably because it cooked longer than it needed to. The sauce, however, was outstanding and made it worth hunting down that pancetta - complex with layers of flavor, yet simple to prepare. The spices sang a lovely harmony in my mouth, while the red wine vinegar (added after removing the chicken) added a subtle yet distinctive kick.