Lemon Chicken Piccata

I don't have a recipe, per se, but I can give you some tips & techniques that we use in the industry.

First is to slice chicken breast in half to form cutlets.


Next, use a meat mallet or heavy pot/pan to pound the breast into even thickness. Focus on the thicker parts, trying to get them the same thickness as the thinnest area. About a 1/4" thick.

To ensure consistency in the flavor and texture of the sauce, we make a lemon beurre blanc. I highly recommend taking this step. Also, zest the lemons with a microplane before juicing them and reserve the zest for garnish.

Fry the capers. To some, capers have a very assertive flavor. You can make them more approachable by frying them in oil first. If you like the flavor of capers, fry a 1/4 cup of capers for garnish.

Chop parsley or slice chives as fine as humanly possible. This will add a nice color contrast as well as fresh herbal flavor to the dish.

Make a seasoned flour for dredging. Nothing fancy, just a little salt, white pepper, garlic powder, and ground oregano.

To complete the dish.
Heat a pan over medium high heat and season two chicken cutlets on both sides then dredge them in the seasoned flour, patting off excess flour.

Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the pan and sear the chicken in hot oil until light golden brown on both sides. Depending on how many you're making, this may have to be done in batches.

Deglaze pan with a little white wine, add capers, and reduce. Then add a little chicken stock and reduce, allowing chicken to cook through.

Remove pan from heat and add beurre blanc, swirling pan to incorporate sauce.

Plate chicken cutlets and add parsley or chives to sauce and spoon it over the chicken.

Sprinkle each plate with a little lemon zest, toss on a few fried capers, and serve.

This goes well served over a little capellini pomodoro.

Cheers!

This was all one meal. If you don't lie the Asparagus part, ignore it.
If I have a photo, ill edit it in.

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, butterfly
Flour for dredging
salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 stick unsalted butter
5 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
Juice of 1 large lemon (About 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Optional:
Lightly buttered Cooked Angel Hair Pasta

Directions

Butterfly the chicken breasts to yield two pieces from each breast. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the chicken in flour.

In a large sauté skillet over medium high heat, add 2 Tablespoons of butter and 3 Tablespoons of olive oil. When the butter and oil start to sizzle (before they begin to smoke), add two pieces of the floured chicken and cook for 3 minutes.

As the chicken begins to brown, turn and cook the other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to a holding plate (with paper towel) and allow the cooked portion to drain. Add 2 more Tablespoons butter and 2 Tablespoons olive oil and repeat. Continue until all of the chicken portions have been cooked.

When all of the chicken has been cooked, add the white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping to free all of the bits that are stuck to the bottom.

As the wine begins to reduce, add the lemon juice, chicken stock and capers and bring to boil. Taste for seasoning and continue cooking the sauce until it has reduced by 1/2. Finish the sauce by adding 2 Tablespoons of butter and whisking vigorously.

Plate the cooked chicken breast portions and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with a little parsley if desired. If you like, you could plate your Piccata over a little lightly buttered angel hair pasta.




Prosciutto Wrapped Braised Asparagus:

Need

12 – 16 fresh asparagus spears
6 – 8 Thin slices of prosciutto
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper

Directions:

Wash and prep the asparagus. Grasp each spear in your hands and bend. The asparagus will snap at the point where the tender end and the “too tough” end meet) Cook the tender end and make Cream of Asparagus Soup stock out of the tough end, or toss it.

Preheat oven broiler

Combine two spears of prepped asparagus and wrap them in 1 slice of prosciutto (or 1/2 slice if the slices are large). I like to place them “head to feet” and wrap so as to leave the tips showing out of each end or the prosciutto, but not the base of the spear, which would be covered by the prosciutto wrap. Sprinkle a little olive oil over each wrapped asparagus, and season with a little black pepper. There should be enough salt in the prosciutto. If not, salt the wrap lightly. Place the wrapped asparagus portions on a lightly oiled broiling pan so that they do not touch. If you are having trouble keeping them wrapped, you can secure with a toothpick, but this usually is not necessary.

Place the wraps under the broiler and broil for about 3 minutes, then remove, turn and return them to the broiler for another 3 minutes. Be careful to not burn the wraps. Remove them early if it looks as though they might be getting too brown in 3 minutes. Fully cooked wraps will be somewhat brown and a little crispy on the outside. That is what you are shooting for with cooking time and distance from the broiler. These two things will vary from oven to oven.

Sprinkle the wraps with a little lemon zest after plating.

Wow. BigDropper dropping that knowledge.