A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater: February’s Chicken Patties with Rosemary & Pancetta

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Reading through A Year in the Kitchen, I’ve discovered that Nigel really loves his pancetta, which may account for part of the reason I really love his recipes.

This dish appealed to me the second I read it.  It was one of the first recipes in February, but I knew immediately it would be the one I’d choose to make & blog for the month, as part of my year in the kitchen with Nigel.   I liked that these patties weren’t your standard burger, or a meatball in sauce. They were served simply with some stock that bubbled away as the patties finished cooking. We had these with some crusty rolls to soak up the stock, and a nice green salad.

Of course I did reduce the amount of butter in this recipe. Apparently a “thick slice” of butter to Nigel Slater = half a stick. I didn’t really think that was necessary since he was using a nonstick pan and the pancetta adds some fat, too.  I used ground lean chicken thighs, but white meat would work, too. I just love the flavor of thighs, and they’re much cheaper.

I opted to use my cast iron skillet for this all the way through (Nigel uses a nonstick pan and a baking dish). It’s well-seasoned, so it’s basically nonstick as it is. Plus it sears burgers and meats nicely, and can go in the oven.  And, who wants to use 2 or 3 pans when you can just use one? It seemed like the perfect tool for this dish.

We really loved these patties. They’re incredibly simple, both to make and ingredient-wise. The rosemary and pancetta almost give this a breakfasty-vibe, but  in a good way.  I loved using the bread to soak up the extra liquid, but these would also be great over mashed potatoes.  I’ll definitely make these again!

 

A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater: February’s Chicken Patties with Rosemary & Pancetta

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15 thoughts on “A Year in the Kitchen with Nigel Slater: February’s Chicken Patties with Rosemary & Pancetta

    1. Nope, I had them do it at the counter for me. I could really use that grinding attachment, though, so I can do it myself and save some moolah.

  1. I like everything about these, they just sound so good. On grinding meat at home, you can do it in a food processor if they mean is really cold and you work only in very small batches. Just an option if you ever need it!

  2. Ooh, Elly, those sound fantastic! I’m intrigued by Nigel Slater’s book… is it more cookbook or something you’d pick up and just read?

    1. Erin, the great thing about it, is that it’s sort of a combo! There are definitely quite a few more traditional recipes in there (ingredients, directions) but then there are times where he just talks about what he ate that day, what looked/smelled good at the farmers’ market, etc. I’ve been sort of reading along with it each month (so reading the Jan chapter in Jan, Feb in Feb, etc.). I recommend it!

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