LEMON CHICKEN

I love the combination of lemon and capers in different recipes.  Lemon chicken or chicken piccata does not require many ingredients.  It is a great dish to serve when entertaining as it is not spicy, can be served with rice, potatoes, couscous or quinoa.  I made this dish to serve four and it could have fed six people.

I used frozen chicken breasts for this recipe.  I let them thaw and before they were totally thawed I sliced each one horizontally into four pieces.  I wanted to have the meat less thick.  Cutting the meat up this way creates more pieces to cook so I used two large frying pans.  You can use one pan and cook half the meat and then cook the remaining half.  I didn't want to take more time to cook the chicken so I used two pans to brown and cook the chicken.  After the meat is cooked, you make the sauce in one pan and then add the chicken back to cook for five more minutes.

The lemon chicken tasted great and I served it with brown basmati rice, salad and roasted brussel sprouts.  Everyone enjoyed the meal and there was enough leftovers for another supper for two.

Too much chicken in one pan so I got a second frying pan going. 

Ready to eat.

INGREDIENTS:

4 skinless, boneless medium size chicken breasts
1/3 to 1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
3 to 5 tbsp of olive oil for sautéing the chicken
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup capers
small handful of parsley, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Cut each chicken breast into four long strips.  If you can only cut three strips per breast, that is okay.  Pat the chicken with a paper towel in case it is not dry enough for dredging with flour.  Put the flour into a plastic bag in order to coat the chicken with flour.  Add a little bit of salt and pepper.  Add the chicken to the bag, close the bag and shake the chicken in the bag.

Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil and when it is hot, place the chicken in the pan.  If the chicken is too crammed in the pan it will be harder to cook.  If required, heat a second frying pan with oil to cook the balance of the chicken.  Reduce heat to medium and cook the chicken on both sides until it is nicely brown and well cooked.  This should take about 12 to 15 minutes depending on your stove.  Remove the chicken and place it on a plate.  Add the lemon juice, capers and stock to the pan.  Scrape the pan to get the material that stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Bring the sauce to a boil.  Add the chicken back to the pan and the parsley and cook for five minutes on medium to low heat.  Remove the chicken and place on a serving platter and pour the sauce over the chicken.  Serves 4 to 6.