My dad and I have a special relationship; according to him, I mooch off of all of his recipes, and "have some nerve!" I forgot to give him credit for his tuna and beans (which, a year later, he has yet to stop reminding me)... so I will say this; my dad can take full credit for this dish. And boy, once I have a bite (or two) of it I have no shame in admitting it.
This week, my mom misread her online shopping-cart and accid
entally overdosed on chicken breasts from Fresh Direct, realizing only when she was opening the package that she ordered 3 times as much as she intended. Ergo, my dad's pork piccata becomes chicken piccata. And boy, do I hope you guys like chicken, because we have enough to feed a family of 4 (or easily just us two girls) and a whole bookshelf full of cookbooks.
This dish is like a kicked-up, lighter version of chicken piccata with a more fresh tasting sauce than the normal dish (which we happily scraped from the pot until it was completely bare). I was convinced that I overcooked the chicken (skinless, boneless chicken breasts-which I have a habit of drying out) and was completely surprised to find it be the moistest chicken breast I have ever had. Foolproof? I think so. Delicious? Oh. My. God.
I licked the plate. Must I go on?
Chicken Piccata
Adapted from Cooking Light's original pork piccata
1/3 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped shallots (I used onions, as that was what was on hands. Both ways work fabulously)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 teaspoons capers
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium.*
Add shallots to pan; cook 30 seconds. Stir in broth and juice, scraping pan to loosen the browned bits. Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley, capers, rind, and pepper; simmer 1 minute. Return chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle chicken with 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley.
My chicken cutlets were thick and ended up taking longer to cook all the way through. However long it takes, just make sure they aren't raw because this is the extent of their cooking.
