Chicken Piccata

When it comes to Chicken Piccata, recipes vary a bit on the details, but the basics are simple. Think chicken breasts, lemon and capers. This is absolutely one of my favorites and this is a recipe that has evolved over the years. Some people prefer to bread the chicken while I prefer just a seasoned flour coating. Some people prefer to pan fry the chicken in just olive oil and add butter to the sauce later, I think using both butter and olive oil to fry adds some depth and a lovely golden color. Many recipes choose either chicken stock or white wine, I like to use both. Sometimes I adjust it based on what I have on hand, but this is my favorite combination. I tend to like the sauce a bit more on the tart side. One other note: I buy chicken cutlets that have already been prepared by a butcher to save time, but you can buy boneless breasts and butterfly them or pound them to the thickness you like. Enjoy playing with this recipe!

1 Package Chicken Cutlets (5-6 cutlets)

4 T. Flour

Salt

Pepper

1/3 c. Chicken Stock

2/3 c. White Wine

2/3 c. Lemon Juice (Freshly squeezed, about 2-3 large lemons)

2 Cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped

2 T. Capers

6 T. Butter

4 T. Olive Oil

Fresh Parsley, Chopped

Add flour to a plate and season generously with salt and pepper. Dredge the cutlets in the seasoned flour and set aside, making sure to shake off any excess flour.

In a large skillet, melt 1 1/2 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil over med high heat.

Place two or three cutlets in the pan (making sure not to crowd them) and cook until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side.

Remove from the pan and cover with foil while cooking the next batch.

Wipe out the bottom of the pan before adding another 1 1/2 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil and repeating with the next batch of chicken. When the chicken is cooked, wipe out the pan again and add 2 T. of butter plus 1 T. olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly brown. Add the wine, lemon juice, stock, a pinch of salt and pepper, bring to a simmer.

While the sauce is cooking, make beurre manie by mixing equal parts flour and softened butter (1 T. of each) which will make a paste to thicken the sauce.

Add half of the beurre manie to the simmering sauce and add more as needed. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon when ready, 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the sauce to finish the cooking (about 5 minutes), turning several times to coat evenly.