This is a wonderful, quick meal for two - perfect for Valentine's Day. Once you start cooking the chicken it comes together REALLY fast, so have all the other ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start the chicken.
Chicken Piccata
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tsp. flour
2 tbsp canola or other cooking oil
1/2 cup white wine
1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove)
1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (bottled is just fine)
1 tbsp capers, drained
2 tbsp butter, and yes, this must be real butter
Pound each chicken breast to to 1/4" thick. I do this by putting them in a ziplock freezer bag because they're heavy duty and pounding gently with the smooth side of my meat mallet until the correct thickness is achieved. Pounding roughly or with the spiked side of the mallet will result in chicken shreds.
Dust the pounded chicken breasts with the 2 tsp flour. They just need a very light coating.
Heat a large, wide frying pan over medium high heat and add the 2 tbsp oil. Add the flour dusted chicken breasts and cook until browned, 2-4 minutes. Flip them over and brown the other side, another 2-3 minutes. Remove cutlets from the pan to a plate and pour off any leftover oil.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine and add the garlic. Cook over medium heat until the garlic is lightly golden and the liquid is nearly gone. How long this takes depends on where you live - the recipe said 2 minutes, I found it going a lot faster, so I turned down the heat so the garlic would cook while there was some liquid left.
Add the broth, lemon juice, and capers. Bring to a simmer, and add the chicken back to the pan. Cook for one minute; flip and cook for another minute. Remove the chicken again, turn off the heat, and add the butter. Stir continuously until the butter is melted and incorporated. Remove the chicken to a plate and pour sauce over.
This would be very good over a little bit of linguine. Or served alongside the sauteed spinach I posted earlier. I served it over zucchini fritters and it was marvelous.
Sadly, yes, this recipe does require the wine to taste right. And the capers for the right flavor - they add a delightful piquancy. And real butter for finishing the sauce - margarine will NOT incorporate correctly. It's worth it, though - the finished dish is really pretty (garnish with some fresh lemon slices) and tends to impress people.
