Chicken Piccata

Over the past year, my time has been fully occupied with recipe testing, managing two businesses, and keeping up with my schoolwork. With this busy schedule, I am always looking for quick and satisfying dinner options that still feel special. This bright version of a piccata, has tender, breaded chicken breast smothered with a silky butter and lemon sauce. A comforting Italian American classic, this straightforward recipe has become a new favorite weeknight dinner go-to.

Ingredients:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 extra-large egg

½ tablespoon water

¾ cup seasoned dry breadcrumbs

Olive oil

3 tablespoons butter, room temperature, divided

⅓ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, lemon halves reserved

½ cup dry white wine

For Service:

Lemon slices

Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. With a sharp knife, butterfly the chicken breast, then continue cutting to divide it into 2 thin cutlets. Place breasts between sheets of parchment paper and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to pound them out to ¼-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and black pepper.

In a shallow dish, mix together the flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. In a second shallow dish, beat the egg with ½ tablespoon of water. Place the breadcrumbs in a third dish. Take each chicken cutlet and dip into the flour first, shake off the excess, then dip into the egg mixture. Finally, shake off any excess egg and then dip in the breadcrumbs.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the coated chicken breasts and cook for two minutes on each side, until evenly browned. To avoid overcrowding, you might cook the cutlets in batches, adding more oil as needed. Place browned chicken on the prepared baking sheet and set in the oven. The chicken will finish cooking for about 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce. Work quickly.

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel then set over medium heat and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the lemon juice, wine, reserved lemon halves, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Raise heat to high and boil until reduced by half, about 2 to 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, swirling the pan as it melts into the sauce. Discard the lemon halves before serving. Taste for seasoning. The sauce will be quite tart, but will mellow when served with the chicken. You could add more butter to help mellow it out a bit.

To serve, spoon the sauce over the top of the browned chicken then garnish with fresh parsley and lemon slices.

Notes:

For another traditional version of this dish, you could add a tablespoon of drained capers to the sauce at the same time as the lemon juice and wine. Smashed garlic cloves are also a nice addition to the sauce for a more robust flavor.

This recipe serves 2 but can easily be doubled. I served this with mashed potatoes and a crisp salad. It would also be lovely served with a creamy risotto or a simple buttered pasta. Enjoy!