Warm Potato and Pancetta Salad

I was in a rush for dinner last night, as I spent too long lounging around in the park in the afternoon and then had to head across town for a drink in the evening. This was the outcome of my cooking under time pressure, and I thought I'd share it with you as it was actually remarkably tasty. I sliced some new potatoes quite thinly, so they would cook quickly, and fried them up in a little butter over a moderate heat along with some pancetta that I was happy to find in the fridge. I tore up the leaves from a baby gem lettuce, and added a good handful of parsley leaves, left whole, tossing it all in a dressing which was half red wine vinegar, half olive oil, salt and pepper. I was banking on the butter and juices from the pancetta to add enough extra oil to the dressing to make it all balance out. The leaves went onto a plate, and the potato and bacon scattered over the top as soon as ethey were both turning just golden, leaving some of the greens just wilting under the heat. A glass of cold white wine to go with it, and I was cooked, fed and ready to go within twenty minutes. A few shavings of parmesan and some nice little cherry tomatoes would have set it off a treat, and turned it into a pefectly presentable light lunch or dinner to serve to visitors, but I had neither. I coped.