Chicken Picatta
Chicken Picatta is one my husbands absolute favorite dishes. When I tell him I'm making it, his eyes light up. I have to admit, it's pretty delicious with its lemony, butter sauce and salty capers. Using everyday pantry ingredients, this simple and healthy dish is restaurant worthy and one of the more popular recipes in my Shonal's Kitchen Cookbook. The sauce is also great with fish!
This dish is best made using boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Start with placing the chicken in between some plastic wrap and pounding it to about 1/8" to 1/2" thickness.
Season both sides with House Blend.
Some recipe's bread the chicken and some don't. Sometimes I do and there are other times that I don't. I find it's tastier when it's breaded though. Any kind of bread crumbs will work, but I like to use Panko bread crumbs. They are a Japanese style breadcrumb made from crustless bread. They are lighter and flakier than regular bread crumbs. Coat both sides of chicken with the panko and heat a large saute pan with some olive oil in it.
Saute breaded chicken breasts on both sides, cooking all the way through, about 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Remove from pan and place in oven (just to keep it warm). You don't want to cover the chicken with foil because it then all that delicious golden brown crispiness will get soggy. The sauce only takes a few minutes, so the chicken will stay warm.
Only a few choice ingredients are needed for the sauce. It's best to have the items out and ready because this goes fast. Chopped garlic and parsley, lemon, butter and capers. You will also need dry white wine and chicken broth.
Once you've removed the chicken, leave any golden bits, they will add to the deliciousness of the sauce. Place about 2 tablespoons of butter along with 3 cloves of chopped garlic in the pan and saute until the garlic just starts to turn a light golden.
Oh man, the smells of butter and garlic sauteing are making my mouth water!
Next, deglaze the pan with some dry white wine, about a 3/4 cup. Scrape up all those bits on the bottom of the pan and reduce wine by about 1/3 (about 3 minutes or so on medium heat).
Add the juice of half a lemon, about 1 tablespoon.
In goes the iceberg of chicken broth. This is homemade broth that I freeze in 1/2 cup and 1 cup increments. It's so easy to just pull it out of the freezer and pop it in whatever I am cooking. You can also put it in a bowl of water and it defrosts pretty quickly. Using it frozen is more convenient and it melts in a matter of a couple of minutes anyway.
Season with House Blend and bring sauce to a low boil.
Add half the chopped parsley, saving the remaining for garnish.
I like to slightly thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch and water mixture. Mix together about 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and about some water and stir into sauce.
Sauce will thicken immediately, stir constantly to avoid any lumps.
MMMMM, I love capers, they're like salty little gems! I add way more than you probably need, so I'll leave it up to you on the amount. Be sure to add a little of the juice from the jar too. And your sauce is done!
There are so many different things you could serve this over, like pasta, couscous or rice. I chose brown rice for this dish, it's nuttiness is a great compliment to the lemony sauce. To serve, spoon rice onto a plate, top with chicken and spoon sauce over the top. Garnish with the remaining chopped parsley. It's beautiful and really delicious and no doubt why it's one of the most popular dishes in my Shonal's Kitchen Cookbook!
RECIPE
CHICKEN PICATTA
| Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 25 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 4 |
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- SplenDishes House Blend
- olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons capers with some juice
Directions:
Pound chicken breasts to 1/8"-1/2" thickness. Heat oil in large saute pan.
Season both sides with House Blend and coat both sides with panko bread crumbs.
Saute chicken, browning on both sides until cooked all the way through, about 4-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
Remove and set aside in closed, dry place such as the oven.
Add butter to pan along with garlic and saute until garlic turns slightly golden.
Deglaze with white wine, scraping bits off bottom of pan. Reduce by about 1/3 and add chicken broth.
Season with 1/2 teaspoon House Blend and add 1 tablespoon of the parsley.
Stir in cornstarch mixture until sauce thickens, then add capers and some of the juice.
Serve over brown rice, pasta or couscous, spoon sauce over chicken and garnish with remaining parsley.
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