Chicken and Leek Pasta with Pancetta

This is a square picture of a skillet filled with chicken and leek pasta.

5 from 3 votes

Incredibly delicious, comforting and satisfying but without being overly indulgent, this chicken and leek pasta dish recipe is made with crispy pancetta, a lighter cream sauce and finished with fresh parmesan and lemon.

Prep Time15

Cook Time50

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 532.5kcal

Author: Priscilla Lawrence

Equipment

bowl
large skillet with high sides
wooden spoon
slotted spoon
small bowl
large pot to cook pasta
colander to drain pasta
plate
lemon juicer optional

Ingredients

2 chicken breast medium, skinless, 1-inch cubed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 ounces pancetta cubed
10-12 ounces pasta of choice like linguine, about ⅔ of a 1 lb pack
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil optional, if needed
4 cups leeks finely chopped, about 2 medium leeks, white part only
3-4 cloves garlic minced
½ teaspoon black pepper more or less to taste
salt to taste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
⅓ cup chicken broth
⅔ cup half and half
½ cup reserved pasta water
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan or more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
chopped parsley to taste

Instructions

Season the cubed up chicken breasts with smoked paprika, a pinch of salt and pepper, mix it well, then set aside.
Heat up water and cook the pasta per package direction. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.
Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the cubed pancetta. (no need for oil). Cook the pancetta until crispy, stirring often, about 6-7 minutes.
Once the pancetta is crispy, remove and transfer the cooked pancetta to a bowl with a a slotted spoon, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet.
Add chicken to the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Once the chicken is ready, remove it from the skillet with the slotted spoon, and keep it aside on a plate or bowl.
Add some olive oil if the skillet feels dry, but you might not need any. Add the chopped leeks, reduce heat to medium, and cook stirring often for about 10 minutes or until leeks are tender. *watch the heat level as you don't want to burn the leeks.
Add the minced garlic to the leeks and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Sprinkle salt and black pepper, then add the Dijon mustard, broth, half and half and pasta water to the leeks, scrape any bits from the bottom of the pan, bring to a low boil, keep the heat to medium/medium-low, let the sauce thicken, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
Once the sauce has reduced a bit, add the chicken and pancetta back to the skillet and mix them in. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes.
Sprinkled the lemon juice and grated parmesan over the dish and mix it in.
Add the pasta to the sauce and mix together, cook for another couple of minutes until the pasta are well coated.
Serve, add a little more parmesan and chopped parsley if you wish, adjust salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Notes

Pasta: use any kind of pasta you like, from wheat, gluten-free, protein, chickpea, lentils. I prefer a long shaped pasta like linguine but any shape works with this recipe. You can even use zucchini noodles to make this dish low-carb, or half regular half zoodles too.

*The nutritional values shown in this recipe are approximate for one suggested serving size using the ingredients listed but not including any optional items and may vary per actual preferred portion sizes.

Nutrition