What’s for Dinner: Chicken Piccata

In culinary terms piccata refers to thin slices of meat, dredged and then quickly sautéed, served with a pan sauce frequently involving lemon, butter, capers and wine. The protein can be anything -- fish, pork, turkey, or the old favorites – veal is commonly served in Italy and chicken is more popular in the U.S.

All I know is that my taste buds start watering when I read Chicken Piccata on the menu at my favorite restaurants. I grew up in New Jersey, home to many excellent Italian-American family-owned neighborhood red sauce joints, so I love a simple dish of noodles and gravy (or sauce or ragu depending on who you ask) but every so often the lure of that lemony-briny goodness is too much to resist. So give in already and pucker up!

Let me to show you to a table, and may I suggest -- a little music and perhaps a nice glass of Chianti as you read on?

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I decided to try it at home using a recipe from Ye Olde Internet; there are many good ones to choose from, and they’re all fairly similar. It was simple and simply delicious. Will definitely make again.

I will never stop searching for those perfect hole in the wall restaurants that have mastered the Italian-American classics like spaghetti and meatballs, eggplant parmesan and 'pasta fazool,' but it’s nice to know I can rely on this recipe for a little Buon Appetito in my own kitchen.

Click the pictures to embiggen and read the captions.

Chicken Piccata
Slightly adapted from recipe source: LemonLush via allrecipes.com

Printable Recipe - Chicken Piccata
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Ingredients:

• 3 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each half cut in half (you’ll have a total of 6 pieces)
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
  
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, plus additional as needed
  
• 2 cloves minced garlic
  
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  
• 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
  
• ½ lemon, thinly sliced
  
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
  
• 2-3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place a baking sheet or serving platter into the oven to warm.
  

• Place each chicken piece between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a mallet, hammer or heavy pan until it is thin and even at a thickness of about ½-inch or less. 
  

• Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge them in flour. Shake off excess flour.
  

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pan-fry chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Do not overcrowd the pan! You will need to do this in batches, placing the cooked chicken on the dish in the oven to stay warm and adding oil to the skillet if needed for the new batches. 
  

• When finished cooking all the chicken, drain most of the oil form the skillet, leaving just a thin coating in the pan. 
  

• Over medium heat add the shallot to the skillet, stirring until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 
  

• Pour in the chicken broth. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. 
  

• Stir in the lemon slices and bring the mixture to a boil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces to about 2/3 cup, 5-8 minutes. 
  

• Add the lemon juice and capers, simmer until sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
  

• Add butter and swirl to melt and blend it with the sauce. 
  

• Add the parsley; remove pan from heat and set aside. 
  

• Plate the chicken breasts and spoon sauce over each portion. Or serve family style on a bed of pasta and pour sauce over.