Chicken Piccata

Since I've been on my maternity leave I've had much more time to cook and try out recipes new recipes. Earlier this week I made one of my favorite dishes growing up, Chicken Piccata. I just love the lemon-y-ness and tangy capers in this dish. It was super easy to make and even tasted good reheated the next day. The girls "chopped" me on this one, mainly because of the capers, but they did like the chicken plain so it's still a dish my whole family can enjoy (and means more of the yummy sauce for me and the hubby).

Chicken Piccata

Source: Ok. I'll Eat That

Ingredients

• 2 large lemons
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), rinsed, dried thoroughly, and trimmed of excess fat
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 unbleached all-purpose flour
• 4T vegetable oil
• 1 small shallot, minced or 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
• 2T small capers, drained
• 3T unsalted butter, softened
• 2T minced fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, set large heatproof plate on rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Halve one lemon pole to pole. Trim ends from one half and cut crosswise into slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick; set aside. Juice remaining half and whole lemon to obtain 1/4 cup juice; reserve.
3. Sprinkle both sides of chicken generously with salt and pepper. Measure flour into pie tin or shallow baking dish. Working one cutlet at a time, coat with flour, and shake to remove excess.
4. Heat heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 minutes; add 2 tablespoons oil and swirl pan to coat. Lay half of chicken pieces in skillet. Saute cutlets, without moving them, until lightly browned, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Turn cutlets and cook until second side is lightly browned, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes longer. Remove pan from heat and transfer chicken to plate in oven. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to now empty skillet and heat until shimmering. Add remaining chicken and repeat.
5. Add shallot or garlic to now-empty skillet and return skillet to medium heat. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds for shallot or 10 seconds for garlic. Add stock and lemon slices, increase heat to high, and scrape skillet bottom with wooden spoon or spatula to loosen browned bits. Simmer until liquid reduces to about 1/3 cup, about 4 minutes. Add lemon juice and capers and simmer until sauce reduces again to 1/3 cup, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and swirl in butter until butter melts and thickens sauce; swirl in parsley. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately. 

Enjoy!