Chicken piccata is super quick and easy to make with pounded chicken breasts and a simple pan sauce made with capers, butter, white wine, and lemon juice.
Ingredients
- skinless, boneless chicken breast halves: 4 piece
- cayenne pepper: 0 piece (to taste)
- salt and ground black pepper: 0 piece (to taste)
- all-purpose flour for dredging: 0 piece
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp
- capers: 1 Tbsp (drained)
- white wine: 0.5 cup
- lemon juice: 0.25 cup (fresh)
- water: 0.25 cup
- unsalted butter: 3 Tbsp (cut into 1/4 inch slices, cold)
- Italian parsley: 2 Tbsp (fresh; chopped)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of heavy plastic on a solid, level surface. Firmly pound chicken breasts with the smooth side of a meat mallet to a 1/2-inch thickness.
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Season both sides of chicken breasts with cayenne, salt, and black pepper; dredge lightly in flour and shake off any excess.
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Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken in the pan, reduce heat to medium, and cook until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.
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Cook capers in reserved oil, smashing them lightly to release brine, until warmed through, about 30 seconds.
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Pour white wine into the skillet and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
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Stir lemon juice, water, and butter into the reduced wine mixture; cook and stir continuously to form a thick sauce, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir parsley through the sauce.
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Return chicken breasts to the pan and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with sauce spooned over the top.
