December 19, 2022
Chicken Piccata
serves: 6-8
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 25 minute
Note: I serve the chicken (and sauce!) over quinoa or butter noodles. Quinoa is the more nutritious option and my preference, but butter noodles is my family's preferred version. To cook the quinoa: rinse 1 c. of quinoa then add to a mix of 1c. water and 1 c. homemade chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15mn. Turn heat off and keep lid on for an additional 5mn. Fluff with fork and add sliced green onions and a pad of butter. Fluff again and keep lid on until ready to eat.
Ingredients:
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. (8 tbsp) salted butter
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 - 1/3 c. fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 c. homemade chicken stock
2 c. dry white wine
1/4 c. capers, with a little brine
2-3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1/2 c. flour
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
1/4 c. whipping cream (optional)
Preparation
Cut chicken on a diagonalto make about 4 thin slices for each breast. Pat each piece dry with a paper towel, and salt and pepper both sides. Lay paper towel over a cookie sheet and lay chicken out to dry some more, and to come to room temp.
Juice about 2 lemons until you have about 1/3 cup. Measure out broth and capers and chop parsley. Add 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium-high. Sauté chicken in 3 batches., browning on each side. Turn down heat if butter starts to melt, and add for each batch, add more equal small amounts of butter and olive oil as needed. Reserve 1/2 of the butter for later.
There should be just a little butter-oil left in the pan. Remove any burnt bits, but keep all the dark brown bits. Add 1/2 cup wine to pan, scraping the bottom. These bits of meat on the bottom of the pan, the frond, is where all the flavor is. Add the rest of the wine. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce by half over med. heat. While reducing, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat, in a really small sauce pan (I have one that holds no more than one cup.) Add 2 tbsp of flour and stir or whisk until the butter-flour mixture bubbles rapidly and then turns light brown. Add about 1/4 cup the reduced wine, just a few drops at a time. Then slowly add this mixture back into the large saucepan with remaining wine. Stir well. The wine will start to thicken. Add the chicken broth slowly, continuing to stir or whisk. The sauce will thicken some more. You want it to coat the back of the spoon, but not be as thick as gravy. Add the capers and about 1/2 the lemon juice, then whisk and taste. Add more lemon juice, salt or pepper to taste. If you want it richer or creamier, slowly add a little heavy whipping cream at this point. Stir well then put chicken back in pan. Simmer for 5mn. or until meat is cooked through.
Take off heat. Add last 2 tbsp butter to sauce. Stir until silky. Garnish with parsley and serve. (There's a member of my family who does not like bits of raw chopped green garnish, so I add the parsley in earlier, for flavor...right before turning off the heat.) And then stir so it's well incorporated into the sauce.)
Roasted Broccoli
Take out enough broccoli to feed your family or number of guests. Remove florets with a knife, and cut into bite sized pieces by slicing through stem end about halfway, and then pulling apart. Don't cut all the way through the florets as it causes them to fall apart more, and also the cut doesn't look natural. For remaining large stem, peel the tough outer layer, and slice inner stalk on the diagonal. Put all the floret and stalk slices into a colander and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry and lay out on a sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil or coconut oil. Season with large flaky sea salt and espelette pepper. Bake just until they turn dark green, but to where there is a bit of bite left. You don't want them turning moss-color or mushy. Finish with a drizzle of fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
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