Chicken Piccata ~ So how do you make that?

Happy Spring everyone! I hope you are enjoying this fantastic weather!

I remember having Chicken Piccata several years ago in an italian restaurant, and I loved it. Since then, the years have passed, the seasons have changed, but one spring evening, as I looked at the chicken thawing in the fridge, a distant but dreamy memory floated around and visions of capers and lemon juice danced in my mind. And as if waking from a dream, I reached for the flour and decided, today is the day, I'm going to make chicken piccata! And now you can too! There are a couple of steps involved, but it was really quite simple to make. Here we go!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

Flour

2-4 tblsps unsalted butter (optional)

2-4 tblsps olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup chicken stock/broth

1/4 cup capers

1/3 cup fresh parsley or 2 tblsp dried parsley

Step 1:

Cut chicken into whatever size piece you'd like. If you prefer larger pieces, you can leave them large. I prefer smaller pieces, as they get more flavor all around them and cook faster.

Step 2:

Season chicken with salt and pepper and then coat chicken in flour. I use a plastic ziploc bag full of flour and drop each piece into the bag and shake to coat. You can also do this in a bowl if you prefer.

Step 3:

Heat pan on medium and melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan. When butter has melted, add as many pieces of chicken as will fit without crowding the pan.

You could skip the butter, it is optional, but provides a rich taste that oil alone doesn't seem to give.

I use whole wheat flour, but you can use all purpose if you prefer.

Step 4:
Brown the chicken for about 2-3 minutes on each side.

If you use larger pieces, remember to keep the chicken in the pan for longer until the chicken is mostly cooked through.

Step 5:
Remove chicken from pan and remove to a plate. Repeat this process until you have cooked all the chicken. Add additional oil/butter only if needed. Remove all chicken when done, and turn stove off.

Step 6:

Into the same pan, add lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and heat the mixture through. Make sure to scrape up the bits left over from cooking the chicken. Check for seasoning and add salt if needed and add parsley.