Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata is an ‘original goodie’ in my house. It’s really easy to make and super good tasting — not to mention — awesome leftovers.

 Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breasts
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Cups Chicken Broth
• 1 Egg
• 1 Lemon
• 2 Tablespoons Caper
• Splash white wine
• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 Cup Grated Parmesan
• 1/8th Bunch Fresh Parsley
• Salt, Pepper
• Garlic, Paprika, Tarragon (optional)

First off, the chicken needs to be prepared… Trim the fat off the chicken — there shouldn’t be much — but you still want to remove any excess areas of fat. Now we need to flatten the chicken. To do this use either wax paper or saran wrap. Put one square of your wax paper on the counter top or cutting board. Place one chicken breast in the middle and put the other piece of wax paper on top. I use a rolling pin to gently hit the chicken with. Pound the chicken all over until the thickness is even and the total thickness is between 1/4 – 1/2. Season the chicken with salt & pepper. At this point, I also like to season the chicken with garlic powder, paprika and tarragon. If you don’t have those spices laying around don’t sweat it. When chicken breast is done remove to a plate and start work on the next chicken breast.

After all chicken breasts are flattened, it is time to get the breading ready. Crack one egg into a bowl and whisk. Pour all flour except 2 tablespoons on a plate. With one chicken breast dip into egg, let egg drip off, and then dredge the chicken in the flour on both sides. If it seems like you are not getting a full coating of flour on the chicken — don’t worry — it will be ok.

Ok, chicken is now ready to cook. Heat fry pan to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter is melted add 2 chicken breasts to the pan. Flip when browned. This usually takes 4-5 minutes on my gas stove. Remove when 2nd side is browned — should be another 4-5 minutes. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Repeat for remaining chicken breasts by adding 1 additional tablespoon of butter and cooking as described.

Sauce time — sauce is the icing on this dish. It should be light and refreshing. With the pan used for cooking the chicken pour off any extra liquid, if there are any chunks of breading or burnt items, remove those. Add 1 tablespoon butter and remaining flour (2 tablespoons). Cook and stir until butter has absorbed all flour and mixture is starting to turn brown. Now add the chicken broth, juice of 1 lemon and splash of white wine. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute and reduce heat to low. Add capers and chopped parsley. Stir.

Serve chicken with a couple spoonful’s of the lemon sauce poured on top. This dish goes well with a starch. We have used this mushroom and risotto recipe on foodnetwork.