Chicken Piccata
Jan. 22nd, 2009 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraaI went with the orzo, because a) it was the runaway poll victor, b) it turns out I had a package of 'garden medley' flavored orzo, which would go great with the flavor of the piccata sauce, and c) ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jmpava's swing vote was for the orzo. ;)
(Picture taken with iPhone, hence not-great quality.)
Chicken Piccata with Orzo
Serves 2.
First, brine the chicken. (This step is sort of optional, but I really, really recommend it, for keeping your chicken moist and tender even when you cook it long enough to brown.) To do this, dissolve 1/4 cup of salt in about half a cup of hot water in a large bowl, then add enough cold water to almost fill the bowl. Add ice to bring the temperature to cold-but-not-quite-freezing (say, 35-40F), and then add the chicken. Let the chicken brine in the water for a couple of hours, then drain.
Lay the chicken on a sturdy cutting board and flatten it. If you have a smooth-sided meat pounder thing, you can use that; I just use the bottom of a heavy pot. What you want to do is bang on the thick side of the breast until the whole thing is close to even in thickness.
Pour the flour out on a large plate and add salt and pepper to taste. (If you have no idea how your taste is in this instance, I'd start with a teaspoon of salt and a healthy pinch of pepper.) Stir with a fork, then dredge the chicken on both sides in the flour to coat. I actually usually dredge each one time, let them sit about a minute, and then dredge them again.
This is a good time to start the water for the orzo. Cook and drain the orzo as directed on the package, while completing the rest of the recipe.
In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is warm, add 2 tbsp of the butter and melt; the butter will foam up. When the foam has settled by the butter isn't yet browning, add the chicken. Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
While the chicken cooks, finely mince the shallot and the garlic. (Do note that I am a garlic fiend and usually put in three times the recipe quantity of garlic, and I kept it to one clove on purpose. If you want to increase it, that's cool, but be aware of that. ;) ) Zest the lemons.
When the chicken is done, take it out of the pan and put it on a plate, and tent loosely with foil to keep the heat in. Pour off some of the fat; you want to have a thin layer of fat still in the pan, along with all the rich, brown, crunchy bits that stuck to the bottom. Add a couple of tablespoons of chicken broth and use a spatula to scrape up the crunchy bits and dissolve them in the liquid, then cook down the liquid until what you have in the pan is mostly fat again. Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the shallots and garlic and lemon zest, and stir and cook until the shallot and garlic soften. Then add the rest of the chicken broth and cook down until reduced by half.
When the broth is reduced by half, juice two of the lemons (if small) or one and a half (if large) into the pan. Cook a few more minutes to reduce further, then add the butter and capers (and a splash of caper juice, if you like really tart flavors). Cook and stir vigorously -- you're trying to melt the butter into the sauce so that it thickens and richens it, but doesn't 'break' and make it oily. Finally, when the butter is all melted, turn off the heat, and juice in the rest of the lemon.
On each plate, put half the orzo and one chicken breast, then pour half the sauce over both.
This was my attempt to make a nice, fresh-tasting, crisp salad with my somewhat sad crisper of winter-y vegetables. I think it came out pretty well!
Serves 2.
(A note on ingredients: if you aren't familiar with fennel, it's a crunchy bulb with a slightly sweet, slightly anise-y flavor. And you could sub out white onion for red, but I'd reduce the quantity and slice it even thinner, because red onion tends to be less sulfurous.)
Thinly slice the onion, fennel bulb and celery. I used a mandoline, but you can use a knife if you're patient. Lightly salt, drizzle with olive oil, toss well, and serve.
jmpava's swing vote was for the orzo. ;) |
| From Food 2009 |
(Picture taken with iPhone, hence not-great quality.)
Chicken Piccata with Orzo
Serves 2.
- 1/4 cup salt
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup flour
- salt
- pepper
- 1/2 cup orzo
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 medium shallot
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 small or 2 large lemons
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp capers
First, brine the chicken. (This step is sort of optional, but I really, really recommend it, for keeping your chicken moist and tender even when you cook it long enough to brown.) To do this, dissolve 1/4 cup of salt in about half a cup of hot water in a large bowl, then add enough cold water to almost fill the bowl. Add ice to bring the temperature to cold-but-not-quite-freezing (say, 35-40F), and then add the chicken. Let the chicken brine in the water for a couple of hours, then drain.
Lay the chicken on a sturdy cutting board and flatten it. If you have a smooth-sided meat pounder thing, you can use that; I just use the bottom of a heavy pot. What you want to do is bang on the thick side of the breast until the whole thing is close to even in thickness.
Pour the flour out on a large plate and add salt and pepper to taste. (If you have no idea how your taste is in this instance, I'd start with a teaspoon of salt and a healthy pinch of pepper.) Stir with a fork, then dredge the chicken on both sides in the flour to coat. I actually usually dredge each one time, let them sit about a minute, and then dredge them again.
This is a good time to start the water for the orzo. Cook and drain the orzo as directed on the package, while completing the rest of the recipe.
In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is warm, add 2 tbsp of the butter and melt; the butter will foam up. When the foam has settled by the butter isn't yet browning, add the chicken. Cook for 2-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
While the chicken cooks, finely mince the shallot and the garlic. (Do note that I am a garlic fiend and usually put in three times the recipe quantity of garlic, and I kept it to one clove on purpose. If you want to increase it, that's cool, but be aware of that. ;) ) Zest the lemons.
When the chicken is done, take it out of the pan and put it on a plate, and tent loosely with foil to keep the heat in. Pour off some of the fat; you want to have a thin layer of fat still in the pan, along with all the rich, brown, crunchy bits that stuck to the bottom. Add a couple of tablespoons of chicken broth and use a spatula to scrape up the crunchy bits and dissolve them in the liquid, then cook down the liquid until what you have in the pan is mostly fat again. Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the shallots and garlic and lemon zest, and stir and cook until the shallot and garlic soften. Then add the rest of the chicken broth and cook down until reduced by half.
When the broth is reduced by half, juice two of the lemons (if small) or one and a half (if large) into the pan. Cook a few more minutes to reduce further, then add the butter and capers (and a splash of caper juice, if you like really tart flavors). Cook and stir vigorously -- you're trying to melt the butter into the sauce so that it thickens and richens it, but doesn't 'break' and make it oily. Finally, when the butter is all melted, turn off the heat, and juice in the rest of the lemon.
On each plate, put half the orzo and one chicken breast, then pour half the sauce over both.
This was my attempt to make a nice, fresh-tasting, crisp salad with my somewhat sad crisper of winter-y vegetables. I think it came out pretty well!
Serves 2.
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/2 fennel bulb
- 2 celery stalks
- salt
- 2 tbsp reasonably good-quality olive oil
(A note on ingredients: if you aren't familiar with fennel, it's a crunchy bulb with a slightly sweet, slightly anise-y flavor. And you could sub out white onion for red, but I'd reduce the quantity and slice it even thinner, because red onion tends to be less sulfurous.)
Thinly slice the onion, fennel bulb and celery. I used a mandoline, but you can use a knife if you're patient. Lightly salt, drizzle with olive oil, toss well, and serve.