Angela’s Chicken Piccata

Angela's Chicken Piccata
Angela's Chicken Piccata
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Angela's Chicken Piccata

I have not made piccata in forever, but I had a hankering, so I made this last night. It is the best piccata I've ever made! Note that I used scallions because I didn't have parsley!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword breaded chicken piccata, chicken piccata
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg Thin sliced chicken breast (4-6 pcs) or filet 2 yourself for 4 pcs; the packs have both large and small pcs, which I prefer
  • 1 cup Orzo I like DeLallo #65 (large size)
  • 2 Lemons, zest and juice in separate bowls Slice off 4 1/4" slices after you zest. About 2 Tbl zest and 1/4 cup juice
  • 3 cloves Garlic, minced about 1.5 Tbl
  • 1 small Shallot, minced about 2 Tbl
  • 2/3 bottle Capers and brine 2oz bottle, about 2 Tbl, or use the whole thing if you really love capers!
  • 2/3 cup White wine dry wine or dry sherry would work
  • 2 Eggs, whisked with 2 Tbl water egg wash
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch in bowl big enough to dredge chicken
  • 1/2 cup rice flour you can sub 1/4 A/P flour if you don't have rice flour
  • 1 cup panko with a large pinch of lemon zest, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 Tbl EVOO
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan mix with panko
  • 4 Tbl Butter in 2 2Tbl chunks
  • 1/2 cup EVOO
  • 1/2 cup Canola or any neutral oil
  • 3 Tbl Parsley, chopped OR a couple of scallions, thinly sliced on bias
  • 2 tsp Cornstarch
  • Grated parmesan garnish

Instructions

  • Put 2-3 cups of water in a sauce pan w/ lid for orzo. Park on stovetop.
  • Set up dredge station:
    Bowl 1 is cornstarch, rice flour, 1 tsp salt, mix thoroughly
    Bowl 2 is egg wash
    Bowl 3 is panko with zest, salt and EVOO, mix thoroughly
  • In a large heavy skillet, put EVOO, Canola and 2 Tbl butter over medium heat. You should have about 1/4 inch of oil to shallow fry the chicken cutlets.
  • Start breading procedure with chicken. Flour, egg, panko. Press the panko on. This will be a light breading.
  • When oil is heated (you can check with a thermometer if you like, anything over 175ºF is fine), monitor the heat. Med heat should be OK - it should NOT be smoking hot! Lay the cutlets in the oil gently away from you. Do not crowd the pan. The sound you hear should be a light sizzle, not a raging sizzle. You're going for golden brown, not dark brown and you don't want to overcook the chicken.
  • Turn on heat for orzo water. When boiling, add 2 Tbl salt and a tsp or so of chopped garlic. Cook orzo for about 10 mins, until done but still has a little bite to it.
  • Continue cooking cutlets until they are golden brown. It should take about 4 mins (2 each side) for large pcs and 3 mins for small ones. You'll turn them ONCE. When cooked, put on a plate with a paper towel and don't forget to sprinkle with salt while they are hot.
  • When all the cutlets are cooked and resting, the orzo should be done, drain it and put a little EVOO in it to keep it from sticking together. Lid it and set aside.
  • Set aside the used oil and get out another skillet (nonstick is fine). Put over medium heat with the other 2 Tbl chunk of butter.
  • Cook shallot and garlic until softened, do not brown.
  • Add wine and cook a couple of minutes.
  • Stir in 2 tsp cornstarch to the reserved lemon juice (this is a slurry) and add to pan. Stirring constantly.
  • Add capers and brine, continue to stir. Add lemon zest.
  • This will probably get pretty tight, so you'll need to add a bit of water to keep it saucy. I added about 1/2 a cup all together. Just add one Tbl at a time until your consistency is that of a light sauce. This should yield about a cup of sauce. Add in a Tbl of parsley after you kill the heat.
  • Add salt to taste. You want the sauce to be pretty aggressive since it is flavouring the pasta as well as the chicken.
  • To assemble, put about 3 Tbl of orzo on plate, then lay a cutlet atop that. Put a lemon slice on the cutlet. Spoon 2-3 Tbl of sauce over the lemon and on the pasta. Garnish with some grated parmesan and more parsley (or scallions).

Nick’s Chicken Piccata

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Nick's Chicken Piccata

This is Nick's version of chicken piccata. It is more like a schnitzel since the chicken is breaded. If you prefer a more traditional piccata, just dust the chicken in flour and sauté rather than bread it.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword breaded chicken piccata, chicken, chicken piccata
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 4 thinly sliced chicken breast slices 2 butterflied breasts
  • 1 egg + 2 Tbl water whisked together in shallow dish for wash
  • 1 Cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 Cup A/P flour
  • 1/4 Cup corn starch Mix together flour and corn starch
  • ½ Cup ground parmesano reggiano
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp oregano, dried sub marjoram for a lighter taste
  • 1 tsp basil, dried
  • ½ tsp sweet or smoked paprika
  • 2 lemons, zest and juice in separate bowls
  • 2 Tbl capers with brine
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbl butter, salted
  • olive oil as needed
  • ½ Cup chicken stock
  • 3/4 Cup white wine
  • 1 Tbl corn starch mixed with water or stock thickener
  • chopped parsley garnish
  • dash of sugar, if needed if sauce is too acidic
  • orzo, cooked as package directs any short pasta, but orzo is excellent
  • 1 tsp butter
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • chopped parsley and/or basil for garnish

Instructions

  • Do all your veg and ingredient prep first. Mise en place will greatly enhance your cooking efficiency.
  • Start the pasta water. Add plenty of salt - pasta water should taste like the ocean.
  • If you did not do this first, put the egg and water in a shallow dish and whisk. Add a splash of the fresh lemon juice to this wash.
  • Combine flour + cornstarch, 1/2 tsp salt, oregano, basil and paprika in second shallow dish.
  • Combine parmesan and panko in third shallow dish.
  • Heat a large skillet over med hi heat with a thin layer of olive oil in the bottom.
  • Dip each breast filet into the flour + cornstarch and shake off excess. Then dip in egg wash, then press into the panko mixture to get good adhesion. Gently add breaded chicken to the pan and do not crowd the pan - cook in batches.
  • Cook approximately 5 minutes on the first side, until it is golden brown and the edges of chicken are cooked. Moderate the heat if the breading is cooking too fast. You want a nice sizzle, but a fairly slow cook. Turn the filets once and cook another 3 minutes or so. When golden brown, move to paper towels to drain.
  • Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. In the same pan, add butter and a splash of olive oil over medium heat.
  • Add garlic and cook gently until translucent. Add lemon zest and stir for one minute. RESERVE one TSP of zest for orzo.
  • Add chicken stock, wine and capers and bring to a simmer. Add lemon juice and simmer for another minute.
  • Add cornstarch slurry and bring to a boil for one minute. If the sauce is too tight, thin with stock. It should be a slightly thin sauce, not thick like gravy.
  • Check seasoning, add salt or sugar as needed.
  • Add butter and lemon zest to drained orzo.
  • Serve over pasta with remaining sauce over chicken. Garnish with parsley and a bit more parmesan.

Notes

Serve this with the same wine you used in the sauce.