Chicken Piccata reminds me of 1940’s-50’s Gourmet Magazine and Sunset Magazine. It’s an early mid-century recipe that became widely popular in restaurants, as well as with home-cooks during this time. I collected food magazines when I lived in San Francisco. Many of the older edition covers featured what was considered technologically “inventive and elegant” foods and marketed to home-cooks. They often included foods in gelatin molds, the canned craze hyped on convenience and overally cooked vegetables in cream sauces. But it also featured some pretty fabulous dishes that hold up to today’s modern day menus, like Chicken Piccata. It’s a good dish! And weirdly, it’s survived some of the toughest times in food history. I didn’t have a clue for dinner one night, but looking at the lemons I just paid $1.39 each for (!!) I knew I wanted something lemony. We had chicken breast, capers, shallots and parsley. So it came to me. Chicken Piccata ~ and my flashback to the 50’s magazine recipe for this dish.
The original recipe for piccata was made with veal, which was a cheaper cut of meat back in the day. Thank goodness chicken replaced most recipes. From what I’ve read, the recipe came from Italy and hit the United States in the 30’s. It almost immediately became popular and with the growth of the restaurant industry, spread across the country in the next 20-25 years to become a must-have dish on the menu. Personally, I haven’t seen it on a recent menu in a hundred years, but I’ve been told many Italian restaurants feature it front and center.
It’s a fairly easy recipe with only a few steps. I think it’s really good. I love lemon and capers and with this recipe you add white wine and garlic. Garlic isn’t traditionally in the dish, but how could that addition of flavor not be good? Right? It’s also typically served with pasta or rice, but we opted to just have a nice light salad. This is a slightly richer dish for our household, using butter and olive oil, so a simple vegetable salad seemed perfect. You do you! Pasta all around!!
Makes 4-6 portions
INGREDIENTS
- 4 organic chicken breasts, boneless/skinless
- 1 T lemon zest
- 1 T Kosher salt, divided
- 1 T black pepper, divided
- 1 C flour, plus more for sauce
- 3 T salted butter, divided
- 3 T extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1-2 shallots, chopped (approximately 1/2 cup)
- 4-6 cloves fresh garlic, minced (approximately 2 tablespoons)
- 2 T flour
- 1/2 C organic chicken broth
- 1/2 white wine
- 3 T fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 5 T capers
- 1/2 C fresh organic Italian parsley, stemmed / chopped
On a cutting board, lay out your chicken breasts. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap. Gently pound each breast to make thinner. Close to a 1/3″ is a good depth. Cut the breasts in half lengthwise, so you end up with 8 pieces. Lightly sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Set chicken aside until ready for dredging. In a medium size mixing bowl, add flour, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Whisk to incorporate. In a large skillet, on medium-low heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and shake off excess. Put four pieces of chicken in the pan at a time. Cook 3 minute per side, watching butter levels so it doesn’t burn. You can drizzle more olive oil in if it seems too dry. Chicken should have a golden brown color when done. Once cooked, remove and place on a platter. Repeat with the other four pieces of chicken. Once chicken is done, add the rest of the butter and olive oil to the same pan.and add 2 tablespoons flour and whisk in. Cook for 3 minutes, consistently whisking so to avoid burning. Add in chicken broth, white wine and lemon juice. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Sauce should begin to thicken. If too thick you can add a little more chicken broth or wine. Add in capers, season with salt and put chicken back in to the pan. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Top with parsley. Serve with pasta or rice and a light salad.