Chicken Piccata
I realise it sounds totally obnoxious to call this a “better” Chicken Piccata. I should clarify and say that this is a better one to me. This dish is a wildly popular Italian-American classic that I’ve tried making over the years following other recipes. I’ve just never been impressed with the results though, leaving me feeling that I’m somehow missing out on the enjoyment of this dish. I always found the lemon sauce mouth-puckeringly sour to the point of wincing. I also felt it just didn’t have enough interesting flavour in it to carry a somewhat bland chicken. So many recipes also called for an insane amount of butter and oil. Sometimes up to half a cup! What the … ?? My butt cannot afford that much fat for what’s supposed to a quick, midweek meal! So this is my version of Chicken Piccata. The sauce is not as sour – I dial it in to just the right amount of lemon tang. I use less fat than most recipes too, and reduce the white wine through cooking to add complexity in the sauce. And as for the chicken? Add a dusting of parmesan. It makes it so much tastier!
What goes in (my) Chicken Piccata
So here’s what you need:
Chicken breast – 2 breasts will serve 3 to 4 people once we cut each piece into 3 and pound into thin steaks. You could also use thigh fillets (skinless boneless) or tenderloins;Lemon – You need a fresh lemon here. Kind of defeats the purpose if you try to make this with bottled lemon juice!White wine – Use any dry white wine that’s not too woody, too sweet or fruity. Chardonnay is particularly great because it adds a good amount of flavour.The wine doesn’t make the sauce taste winey at all because we reduce it right down to cook the alcohol out and just leave behind the concentrated flavour that adds depth to the sauce. Don’t use an expensive wine. The flavour and aroma that you pay for is largely lost during cooking. It’s pretty well documented these days by notable food authorities (such as New York Times Cooking) that you do not need to use expensive wines for cooking.Substitution: If you can’t consume alcohol, use low sodium chicken stock/broth;Capers – Use capers in brine, drained. The capers in salt (ie no liquid) are a little too salty to use here;Butter – For cooking and also for the sauce;Olive oil – For cooking the chicken; andFlour & parmesan – For dusting the chicken. Don’t skip this. It gives the chicken a crust that the sauce clings to. Without it, the sauce just slips off the chicken. (PS The additional of parmesan here is a trick that makes this Chicken Piccata a standout!).
How to make Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata is a straight forward, pretty quick recipe: The wine doesn’t make the sauce taste winey at all because we reduce it right down to cook the alcohol out and just leave behind the concentrated flavour that adds depth to the sauce. Don’t use an expensive wine. The flavour and aroma that you pay for is largely lost during cooking. It’s pretty well documented these days by notable food authorities (such as New York Times Cooking) that you do not need to use expensive wines for cooking. Substitution: If you can’t consume alcohol, use low sodium chicken stock/broth;
Pound chicken so they cook evenly;Dust with flour > pan sear until golden; andMake sauce in same pan (takes 3 maybe 4 minutes).
Serve this with your starchy side of choice and a side salad to get some greens on your plate. Choose from: If using tenderloin, there is no need to cut, just pound each piece. If using thigh fillets, halve then pound; See comment under the Ingredients above for why a flour-parmesan coating is essential here!
Rice side dishesPotato sidesVegetable / salad sides
Some suggestions for you: Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
When life gives you lemons …
Life of Dozer
He’s so stinky, I should put him in for dry cleaning too!
