When I am having trouble coming up with something for dinner, I can never go wrong turning to chicken piccata. It is a flavorful and super easy dish to make in a pinch. Lightly breaded chicken fried in a pan then tossed with lemon, wine, and capers. Chicken piccata makes a perfect quick weeknight meal.
Have you ever wondered, why am I married to this person? Hold on a sec before you go all high and mighty and jumping to conclusions about the status of Mike and my relationship.
The other day, I made chicken piccata for dinner. Now, this is probably the second or third week in a row that I have made this dish. Same exact recipe. No variations. The man turns to me and says, “What are these, peas? These are some weird peas.”
Now that means for three weeks he didn’t say anything. He just happily ate what he thought were weird peas. Bless his heart as my friend Stephie would say.
I turned to him, trying my best not to laugh or smack him in the head over his lack of food knowledge, and I said “Uh nooooo those are capers.”
My dear husband said, “OOOOooooh, so those are capers.” I just shook my head.
And in that moment I had to ask myself, how did I end up with this man? A food blogger who loves to cook, pretty much tries any food out there once, married to a picky eater who loves all buffalo sauce coated things, cheeseburgers (plain), hates pickles, tomatoes, most vegetables aaaand on top of it, thinks capers are peas.
In every other way we are a perfect match and balance to each other. It’s just the food thing.
Part of me thinks it is my job to open his horizons to new foods and make him get out of his comfort zone. Another part is like, well he is 34 years-old, just shut up and let the man eat his weird peas and chicken piccata in peace.
Chicken Piccata
Lightly breaded thin chicken breasts pan-fried and coated in a simple white wine, lemon, and caper sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt salt
- pepper
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/3 cup white wine
- juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp capers
- fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
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Use a sharp knife to cut the chicken breast in half width wise. Place the chicken breast half between two sheets of parchment paper and use a meat tenderizer to pound the meat until it is about 1/4 inch thickness.
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Set up two separate shallow pie plates. Combine the parmesan and the flour in one pie plate. Add the eggs and lightly beat in the other pie plate. Use tongs to first dip the thin chicken breast halves into the egg and then into the flour cheese mixture.
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat for 1-2 minutes until shimmering. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side until crispy and golden.
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Reduce the heat to low. Use a paper towel to wipe away any excess burnt bits from the chicken breading. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
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Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Scrape up any stuck bits leftover in the pan. Increase heat to medium/low. Add the lemon juice, zest, and capers. Cook for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
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Add fresh chopped parsley for garnish. Serve the chicken breasts with some of the pan sauce on top and with a side of greens or your favorite noodle to soak up the sauce.
Recipe Notes
White wine can be subbed out for chicken stock.
Judith Humphrys
May 1, 2018 at 10:20 amYou mention breadcrumbs in your description but I do not see it in the ingredient list or the instructions. Are there supposed to be breadcrumbs?
Stefanie
May 1, 2018 at 10:38 amIt’s lightly breaded in a mixture of flour and Parmesan cheese. No need for breadcrumbs. 😀