Chicken Piccata

I’ve been making Chicken Piccata for several years now, but I always struggled to turn it into a meal.  I tried doubling the Chicken Piccata sauce recipe and then pouring the extra sauce on top of pasta or rice. No matter how much sauce I made, adding the sauce to the top of the pasta left dry spots.  But pasta coated in a lemon butter sauce (Pasta al Limone) finally rounded out the meal. I now make enough sauce for both the chicken and the pasta. The key is tossing the pasta and half of the sauce together rather than adding the sauce on top later.  You’ll want to serve a simple salad as well, since chicken and pasta alone are pretty beige, and who wants to eat a beige meal? 

I often see pictures of the cooked chicken returned to the skillet and sitting in the lemon caper sauce.  This may look appetizing, but in my experience it made the chicken soggy.  It was also difficult to serve, and the sauce was mostly gone before the last person.  I like to cook and serve the sauce from a small saucepan.  Just be sure to spoon sauce from the bottom because the capers tend to sink.

The Chicken Piccata is super easy and classic.  It’s just chicken coated in seasoned flour, fried in a skillet, and topped with a lemon caper sauce.  The pasta is flavored with the same sauce, minus the capers and with the addition of a little parmesan cheese to serve.  It’s a super easy meal that looks and tastes fancy. 

Chicken Piccata and Pasta al Limone

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb. pasta

For the chicken:

• 1 ½ lbs. chicken tenderloins
• ½ cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Lemon Sauce

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Lemon zest from 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup lemon juice or juice of 2 lemons
• 1 cup pasta water
• ½ cup white wine optional
• 2 teaspoons dried or fresh parsley
• 3 tablespoons capers
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method

 

1. Fill a large stockpot with water, salt it, and bring to a boil.
2. Preheat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
3. Flatten the chicken in a large Ziploc bag to about ¼ inch thick.
4. Place the flour in a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper.
5. Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour, and add carefully to the skillet. Cook about 3-5 minutes per side until lightly browned. Turn off the heat, but leave the chicken in the pan to keep it warm.
6. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions, about 7-9 minutes. When draining the pasta, be sure to reserve one cup of the hot pasta water to use in the lemon sauce.
7. Make the lemon sauce. Add the butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, wine and pasta water to a small saucepan. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil, then add the capers and parsley.
8. Assemble the Pasta al Limone. Return the drained pasta to the pan, then add half of the lemon sauce and toss to coat. Add the parmesan cheese and toss some more. Taste it and add additional salt if needed.
9. To serve, top the chicken with the reserved Chicken Piccata sauce.