I often have little odds and ends of ingredients hanging around the fridge. Since our grocery bill is high enough as it is I avoid letting them linger so long that they come to a slow, painful, mold ridden death and have to end up in the garbage can. This week's contestants were some prosciutto and some pancetta that were left in the meat drawer.
In the pan above I have:-Sliced chicken breasts
-Fresh rosemary
-Fresh thyme
-Salt
-Pepper
-Pancetta
-Prosciutto
-A tablespoon of olive oil
-Onions
I know it seems like overkill that I threw in olive oil but pancetta does not throw off as much grease as thick cut bacon and I didn't have that much to start off anyways. I let everything brown nicely together. While that was going on I was....
soaking my dried mushrooms in boiling water. A long time ago my Mom bought me a big container of mixed wild mushrooms from Costco. I was happy that she did because fresh wild mushrooms are incredibly difficult to find here and even the dried ones cost a bundle.
Once my mushrooms had been soaking long enough I added them and their liquid to the chicken along with a generous (or many generous) glugs of wine (because booze makes everything better). I let this simmer away merrily so all the ingredients could get to know each other and so it could reduce to a thicker consistency.
Personally I am a fan of sauces and stews on the thick side. Mostly because I love lots and lots of sauce and thin sauce just doesn't stay on your fork.
I originally was going to make pasta with this but The Husband requested potatoes, which didn't really keep up with the Italian theme but whatever makes him happy is good with me. I know this isn't the prettiest looking dish but it was very tasty. You can see the chunks of chicken and make out some of the wild mushrooms in the picture.
This recipe was definitely a repeat for me. It was fast, comforting and filling. The Husband's one request was that I make it with fresh mushrooms; he has a thing against the texture of dried mushrooms. Unfortunately I married a very picky guy!
