CHICKEN, PANCETTA AND SAGE PASTA

words Alison Powell

Chicken and sage are perfect partners, while the pancetta gives a juicy, salty kick. You could also use leftover turkey in place of the chicken, as it’s always useful to have leftover turkey recipes to hand at this time of year!

INGREDIENTS Serves 2

• 150-200g dried pasta shells/conchiglie (a thick creamy sauce works well with this shape of pasta)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 300ml crème fraîche
• 2 heaped tsps of dried sage
• Around 200g leftover roast chicken, chopped into chunks
• Around 80g pancetta, chopped into chunks
• A good grind of black pepper and a pinch of salt

How to:

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
2. Heat the olive oil gently in a frying pan and soften the crushed garlic and chopped onion over a low heat. This’ll take 5-6 minutes, by which time the water should be near to boiling.
3. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta. In the frying pan, add the pancetta, turning the heat up to medium.
4. Once the pancetta starts to brown at the edges, add the chopped chicken and the sage.
5. Stir the chicken and sage gently. You need to ensure that the meat is fully reheated. (Note: roast chicken should only ever be reheated once!)
6. Add the crème fraîche, a good grind of black pepper and a pinch of salt – go steady though, as the pancetta is quite salty. Mix and allow it to simmer until the pasta has finished cooking, which should take about 10-12 minutes altogether.
7. Drain the pasta (reserving some of the water) and then tumble into the sauce, stirring it gently to ensure it’s all covered. If the sauce is too thick, loosen with a little pasta water.
8. Serve on its own, or with a chunk of garlic bread, or a lovely green salad.