Chicken piccata is a traditional Italian dish. It has a tart sauce with an addition of lemon juice and this can be thought to originate from one of the meanings of the word “piccata”- tart or zesty. In the chicken piccata recipe, pork can be substituted for the chicken and vegetarians can use thin slices of tofu, or eggplant instead of the non-vegetarian meat kinds. The downside for these meat substitutes however is that they will not yield a rich sauce. This dish takes approximately 20 minutes to prepare. It is a quick and easy tasty meat dish that will satisfy everyone’s taste buds.
Ingredients
- 2-4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- A? cup brined capers
- 1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup flour
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
- Salt
- Pepper
- 2 gloves minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- A? cup chicken stock (or dry white wine)
Directions
- Butterfly the chicken breast open by cutting them in half horizontally. If they are still too big after cutting them open, use a meat hammer to beat them to a? inch thickness (wrap them in plastic wrap before pounding them).
- In a bowl combine the flour, grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Dip the chicken pieces in the flour mixture after rinsing them in water until they are well coated.
- Over medium heat, heat the olive oil and two tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet.
- In the skillet brown each side of the chicken pieces (approximately three minutes on each side).
- 5. Reserve the chicken pieces on a plate after removing them from the skillet and cover them with aluminum foil and keep them warm in the oven as you make the sauce.
- In the skillet, combine the lemon juice, capers, garlic and chicken stock (or white wine). Scrape up the browned bits which may stick to the skillet.
- Lessen the sauce to a half and whisk in the other two tablespoons of butter
- Serve the chicken with the sauce poured over it and sprinkle it with parsley.
This yielding serves four.
Tips
There should be much caution when adding the wine to the dish on an open flame as it can easily flame up. The chicken piccata dish may also be served as a side dish with pasta or rice. The chicken piccata can also be paired with fried or steamed vegetables. If the dish is being prepared for a large crowd, in order to keep the chicken breasts warm enough, it is recommended that they are kept in an oven that is set to 250o F.
