Food & Wine
Chicken picatta
Traditionally made with veal, this Italian dish is often made using chicken, and is delicious. While it sounds like it requires hours of preparation, you might be surprised how easy it is to whip up.
Ingredients:
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, halved
- Cayenne pepper
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Plain flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon capers, drained
- ¼ cup white wine
- ⅛ cup fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ cup water
- 1 ½ tablespoons cold butter, sliced thinly
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped finely
Method:
- Place the chicken breasts between pieces of plastic wrap and use a meat tenderiser to pound them until they’re about one-cm in thickness.
- Season both sides of the chicken with the cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper to your tastes. Dredge each piece lightly in the flour and shake off any excess.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan and reduce the heat to medium and cook until browned and cooked through – around five minutes on each side. Leave the chicken to stand on a plate.
- Using the oil, cook the capers for about 30 seconds (TIP: smash them lightly to release their brine).
- Add the white win to the pan and scrape any browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Reduce the wine by half, and stir in the lemon juice, water and butter. Cook and stir continuously until a thick sauce has formed (around two minutes at most). Reduce the heat to low and stir in the parsley.
- Return the chicken to the pan and cook until it’s heated through.
- Serve the chicken with sauce spooned over the top.