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Chicken Piccata

Source of Recipe

From "Williams-Sonoma Comfort Food"


Recipe Introduction

"One of the many beauties of chicken piccata is its tart lemon sauce, which can also be served with your chosen side dishes - rice and asparagus are particularly good. With very little effort, you can have the dish ready to serve in minutes, and it is a wonderful option to enjoy as a candlelight dinner with a glass of your favorite wine."

List of Ingredients

◦  4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 6 ounces each, halved
◦  Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
◦  ½ cup all-purpose flour
◦  ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
◦  ½ cup chicken stock or broth
◦  ½ cup dry white wine
◦  Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
◦  ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
◦  ¼ cup nonpareil capers, rinsed and drained
◦  2 Tbsp unsalted butter, thinly sliced
◦  2 Tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving



Recipe

Using a meat pounder, pound the chicken breasts until they are a uniform ½-inch thick. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Spread the flour in a shallow bowl. Dip both sides of each chicken breast in the flour, shake off the excess flour and put the breast on the plate.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. In batches to avoid crowding, add the chicken and cook, flipping the chicken halfway through cooking, until golden brown on both sides, about 6 minutes. (The chicken should not be cooked all the way through, as it will finish cooking in the sauce.) Transfer to a plate.

Pour out any fat in the frying pan and wipe it clean with paper towels. Add the stock, wine, lemon zest and juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Return all of the chicken breasts and reduce the heat to medium to keep the liquid at a steady simmer. Cook, occasionally turning the chicken, until it shows no sign of pink when pierced in the center with a small, sharp knife, about 2 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter.

Add the capers to the sauce and simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the capers. Remove the frying pan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until it melts and lightly thickens the sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken and sprinkle the parsley on top. Serve at once.


Makes 4 servings