Pancetta and Mushroom Orzo Pasta

My housemate Sarah came back to uni with a lovely new cookbook, River Cottage: Veg Everyday, which has hundreds of gorgeous recipes for side dishes, soups and vegetable dishes in their own right. I would definitely recommend it if you're in a bit of a food rut and if you're trying to be more healthy for January  as the majority of recipes are really healthy. Of course, if like me you love your meat you can always incorporate meat into a dish somehow! Sarah and I loved the look of the Mushroom Orzo pasta so we decided to try it, but add some diced pancetta which just gives it a really gorgeous depth of flavour.

Ingredients to serve 2

150g orzo pasta (This pasta is almost like risotto rice in texture and to look at.)

1 tablespoons of olive oil 

knob of butter 

250g mushrooms (Hugh used 500g but we thought this was kind of crazy as that's a whole punnet each...)

2 garlic cloves finely chopped 

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 

about 75ml dry white wine (we used Chat-En-Oeuf which is nice and not too expensive) 

about 50ml creme fraiche 

salt and pepper to season 

a few sprigs of thyme, leaves only 

good handful of chopped parsley 

200g pancetta diced (your butcher/delicatessen will slice you a piece to the thickness you wish (approx 2cm) for you to chop up at home as you wish. You could also use smoked streaky bacon as a cheaper alternative.) 

Start by bringing a pan of salted-water to the boil ready to cook your pasta later. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pan, and cook your mushrooms on a high heat, turning often so they don't burn. In another pan fry your pancetta pieces. 

When the mushrooms are nearly cooked add the pasta to the pan for approximately 7 minutes or until it tastes al dente.When the pancetta is cooked and crispy drain into a bowl lined with kitchen roll to soak up any access fat. 

Back to the mushrooms... Add the garlic, thyme and balsamic vinegar, stirring for a minute or two. Add the wine and cook until there is hardly any liquid left. 

Add the crême fraiche, reduce the heat slightly and stir until it is just about simmering. Season with salt and pepper. If it isn't cooked already, wait to drain your pasta, then add to the mushroom mix with the pancetta. 

Stir and serve with lots of chopped parsley on top with some crusty bread and oils.