Chicken Piccata Pasta
This chicken piccata pasta is a wonderful weeknight meal loaded with flavor from seared chicken cutlets and a rich lemon caper sauce.
Equipment
- 12-inch skillet
- Meat tenderizer
Ingredients
- ¾ pound thin spaghetti
- 4 thin chicken cutlets about ¼ inch thin, one thick breast yields 2 cutlets
- salt
- pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- for the pan olive oil
- 1 tablespoon shallot finely minced
- 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
- ½ cup white wine I use Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or to taste
- ½ lemon thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons capers drained
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- Italian parsley freshly chopped for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot bring salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water; you'll use it later to adjust sauce. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Meanwhile season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper then dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat; cook cutlets until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and add two tablespoons of butter. When it melts add shallot and garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in capers then pour in white wine, scraping any brown bits from the pan. Add chicken broth, lemon juice and lemon slices. Taste and adjust salt or pepper if needed.
- Nestle chicken cutlets into the sauce and lower heat. Let it come to a gentle simmer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until sauce thickens slightly. Remove chicken to a plate and leave the sauce in the skillet.
- Turn off heat and stir in remaining three tablespoons of butter until the sauce looks glossy and thick. Spoon half of the sauce over chicken. Add spaghetti to the skillet and toss with the remaining sauce, adding reserved pasta water as needed to reach the right consistency. Top pasta with chicken, sprinkle parsley and serve.
Notes
- For faster cooking chicken cutlets should be pounded to ¼ inch thickness before seasoning.
- If sauce won’t thicken turn off heat before stirring in 3 tablespoons butter until glossy and slightly thick.
- If sauce consistency seems off stir in reserved pasta water spoonful by spoonful until it coats the pasta evenly.
- For brighter citrus notes use lemon juice squeezed from fresh lemons instead of bottled.
- When avoiding soft pasta rinse drained pasta under cold water to stop cooking and keep it al dente.