Parmesan Chicken Piccata

Parmesan Chicken is one of those easy dishes that only seems complicated. I love it when not much work translates into great results and happy bellies. It's great with a simple side of pasta with marinara, but only a few ingredients transforms the dish into Parmesan Chicken Piccata.


You need to have everything prepped in advance, then it all comes together quickly. Here we have beaten eggs and parmesan in separate dishes for dredging the chicken, which will be pounded to about 1/4 inch thickness. Angel hair will be cooked separately, then tossed in the sauce, which consists of chicken broth, lemon slices, lemon juice, capers, and parsley. I tossed a couple of handfuls of tomatoes in to make it a one dish meal for me and the kids, and 'meat and salad' for my no-pasta eating hubby.


I like to pound meat in a gallon ziplock bag. Especially with chicken, it's nice to avoid getting eensy droplets of germy juiciness all over the place, since I never know when a toddler may decide he needs to crawl up onto the counter to steal a sip of my soda, like he did last night.

Cook the pasta al dente, reserve a half cup or so of the liquid, then drain the pasta and set aside for later. I like to toss the noodles with a little olive oil so it doesn't clump together later.


After pounding thin, salt and pepper the meat, and dip each piece first in egg, then parmesan to coat. Heat 2 T olive oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the chicken until deeply golden. Since chicken breasts can pound out to be really large, I cut some of them in halves before dredging to make them a fit in the pan more easily and had to work in batches.

Remove the chicken and set aside, covered in foil.


Add one more tablespoon olive oil to the pan, and saute the lemon slices, capers, parsely, and some chopped garlic. If like me, you realize your garlic has gone to the dark side, substitute garlic powder and update your grocery list. :)

After a couple of minutes add 1/2 cup chicken stock, or if you have it, 1/2 c white wine. Let it cook down and then add 1/2 chicken stock. Stir for one minute, then add the juice of one lemon and a tablespoon of butter, just to melt it. Here I added the tomatoes, since I wanted them to still have some 'snap' to them.




Add that pasta water you reserved, and then toss in the pasta to coat.


Mangia! Personally I think the lemons are not to be eaten. I tried it once, and it's YIKCY. But they do add flavor to the dish, and look pretty. :)