This flavor-packed lemon chicken piccata comes together in 20 minutes! Chicken cutlets are seared in a bit of extra virgin olive oil, then simmered in a bright lemony sauce with capers. I use a little dry white wine in the piccata sauce, but if you do not use alcohol, substitute with an equal amount of chicken broth. Toss chicken piccata with pasta, or serve it with lemon rice, boiled potatoes, crispy Brussels sprouts, or a colorful Shirazi salad.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time6 minutesmins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4people
Author: Suzy Karadsheh
Ingredients
1lbboneless skinless chicken breast halves,butterflied into thinner cutlets, then cut in half cross-wise
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2cupflour for dredging,use whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or gluten free flour of your choice
1/2cupwhite wine,(or chicken broth if you don't want to use wine)
3 to 4tbspcapers,rinsed and drained
Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
Heat the oven to 200 degrees F (this is to keep the chicken warm as you work in batches).
Pat the chicken breast pieces dry and season with kosher salt and black pepper on both sides. Lightly coat the chicken on both sides with the flour (shake off any excess flour).
In a large cast iron skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Cook the chicken on 1 side for about 3 minutes, then turn over to cook for another 3 minutes (do this in batches and do not crowd the pan).To keep the chicken warm, place the cooked chicken pieces in an oven-save dish and keep them in warm oven while you finish.
Prepare the lemon sauce. In the same skillet (over medium heat), add a little bit more extra virgin olive oil. Add the ghee (or butter, if you prefer). When the ghee melts, stir in the lemon juice, wine and capers. Bring the sauce to a boil, scrapping off any browned bits from cooking the chicken earlier.
Now, return the cooked chicken to the skillet with the sauce. Lower the heat, and let simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, basting the top of the chicken with the sauce.
Remove from the heat and garnish with parsley. Serve with plain orzo and your favorite salad (more suggested sides in post).
Video
Notes
Butterfly the chicken breasts. Because chicken breasts can be thick and uneven, it's a good idea to butterfly them so that they cook quickly and unevenly. This means to split them in half horizontally, creating thinner cutlets. Here is how: start with a sharp knife. Then place your hand on top of the chicken, and carefully slice horizontally. Once you have the thin cutlets, if you need to, you can cut them in halves cross-wise, ending up with smaller pieces (so if you started with 2 large breast halves, you can end up with up to 8 smaller pieces)
For Mediterranean-diet friendly version, use whole wheat flour for dredging.