Chicken Picatta

I took a cooking course a few years back and this recipe was one of the four that we learned class.  Although three of them were scrapped with the first bite I took I did hit the jackpot with the fourth. This chicken picatta recipe in my all time favorite recipe.  Its a basic recipe that you can easy substitute fish, veal or pork and still come out with five star flavor.  Enjoy!

Chicken Picatta

 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup self-rising flour (I use what I have, which is usually all-purpose and it works fine)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper (freshly ground is best)

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp capers

3 Tbsp caper brine (juice from bottle)

4 Tbsp unsalted butter (I’ve used salted and it works just fine)

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

Flatten chicken breasts to about 1/2” thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap using a meat mallet or hammering with a rolling pin.  (You may need to flatten only the thickest part of the chicken and not the whole thing.)

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil (you may want to use more) in frying pan over med-high heat.

Mix flour, salt and pepper on a dinner plate.  Coat chicken with this mixture, shaking off the excess and placing directly in heated olive oil.

Do not crowd the chicken!  You may only be able to cook two breasts at a time.  Cook three minutes on each side or until chicken is browned and cooked through.

Remove chicken breasts and place them onto a serving platter. Keep warm by covering them with foil.

When all chicken breasts are cooked add to the frying pan (still over med-high heat): lemon juice, capers and caper juice.

Cook and scrape pan to loosen all browned bits and cook for two minutes.

Add unsalted butter and continue to stir until melted.  Add chopped parsley.

Return chicken to pan and coat with picatta sauce.

Place chicken breasts onto the serving platter and pour remaining sauce over the top.  

Serve with linguine noodles or on its own. Yum!