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Chicken piccata
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally
- 40g plain flour, plus 2tsp extra
- 70g butter
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 100ml dry white wine
- 150ml chicken stock or water
- juice 1⁄2 unwaxed lemon,
- plus 1 fat strip of zest
- 25g capers, drained if pickled, rinsed well and drained if salted
- 1⁄2 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped
Method
Put each piece of chicken between two pieces of baking paper and use a rolling pin to beat them out firmly but gently to an even thickness of about 0.5-1cm. Season all over with salt and pepper, then dredge in the 40g flour, shaking to remove any excess.
Melt the butter in a frying pan
over a moderate heat. Add the
chicken and cook for around 4 minutes on each side until
golden brown and crisp in
places. Transfer to a plate
and keep warm, leaving any
fat in the pan.
Add the garlic and shallot to the pan and cook for around 2 minutes over a moderate heat, until softened and fragrant. Stir in the extra 2tsp flour, mixing it into any fat and pan juices to form a roux. Cook this out for 1 minute, until thickened and bubbling, then add the wine, whisking well over a moderate heat as the mixture boils and thickens for a couple of minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half.
Add the chicken stock or
water, lemon juice and zest and
cook for 2 minutes until the
sauce has reduced by half
again. Remove the pan from the
heat and add the capers and
parsley. Check the seasoning
and adjust to taste.
Return the chicken to the pan, spooning over the sauce to warm the chicken through before serving.
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