Chicken Piccata
Beyond great flavor and capers, there are a number of things to like about this dish. First, it's easy. Next, you only have to clean one pan after you're done eating. Next, there are multiple options available from your butcher to make preparation easier. Lastly, if you don't care for this particular recipe, you can Google 'Chicken Piccata' and choose from over 400,000 variations of same.
Ideally, you want to work with 6 to 8 ounce chicken cutlets, about 1/2" thick. If you have good knife skills and very sharp cutlery, and are comfortable butterflying chicken breasts, this is the least costly route. Your market should also have a couple of cutlet options for you to choose from, thin or regular. If you can find chicken filets large enough to pound out into small cutlets, they are very tasty. When pounding chicken with the smooth side of a meat mallet or a small but heavy bottom skillet, put the meat in a zip lock freezer size bag, 90% zipped. This keeps the splatter inside the bag. You can most likely get any of these cuts in organic, free range, growth hormone free or whatever you prefer.
Ingredients
6 eight oz. chicken cutlets, about 1/2" thick
Ground sea salt & freshly ground pepper to season cutlets
1/3 cup all purpose flour
8 tbls. unsalted butter
1 cup EVOO
2 fresh lemons, juiced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 tbls. Better Than Bouillon or 2 bouillon cubes
3 to 4 ounces brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Directions
Lightly salt and pepper the cutlets and then dredge in the flour. Shake off the excess flour an set aside. In a large, heavy bottomed, stainless steel skillet, add 4 tbls. of evoo an 2 tbls. butter over medium-high heat. Once the butter melts and starts to lightly sizzle, fry the cutlets 2 or 3 at a time. Cook about 3 minutes a side until lightly browned. Remove the cooked chicken to a covered dish and keep warm. Before cooking the rest of the chicken, add a couple more tbls. of evoo and 2 more tbls. of butter. Once you have finished cooking the chicken, keep it warm in a 180 degree oven in a covered dish.
Deglaze the skillet by carefully pouring in the wine and scraping all of the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula. Raise the heat to high and allow the alcohol to cook off for about one minute. Next add the lemon juice, chicken stock, bouillon and capers. Lower heat to a rapid simmer to reduce liquid and thicken sauce. After 5 to 7 minutes reduce heat to low and return cutlets to skillet for 2 minutes. This will serve to finish cooking the chicken and help to thicken the sauce. Remove the meat from the skillet and arrange on a serving platter. To finish off the sauce, swirl in 2 to 3 more tbls. of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce on the chicken from the skillet making sure to get the capers from the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on the chicken and serve.
NOTE: If you choose to serve the Chicken Piccata over pasta, such as spaghetti or linguine, you will need more sauce to dress the pasta. To increase the volume of the sauce, simply add 2 additional cups of chicken stock, double the amount of bouillon and whisk in a couple of tbls. of flour to help thicken.
Serves 4
