Time: 30 minutes
Feeds: 2-3 people
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breast
- 1/2 cup flour
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4-5 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 cup water
- 4 tbsp salted butter, cut into small pieces
- 8 oz whatever kind of pasta you’d like, see notes
Directions: Slice the chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 thin slices, depending on the original thickness of the breast. You’re welcome to pound these out so they’re thinner but as long as you get the original pieces sliced thin enough, they should cook quickly for you.
On a sheet tray, add the flour and spread out into an even layer. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then lightly dredge with flour. Set aside. You should put a pot of water on the stove to boil for the noodles at this point as well.
Heat a large skillet over medium and add the olive oil. Once the oil is heated, add the chicken and cook on the first side for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Flip and cook on the other side for another 3 or so minutes, temping the chicken to see how done it is. Oftentimes, I’ll finish cooking my chicken in the oven preheated to 300 degrees or if it has cooked all the way through, I’ll drop the oven down to 175 degrees just to keep it warm.
Once the chicken is done cooking and has been removed from the pan, add the smashed garlic clove with another tablespoon of olive oil if there’s none left in the pan. Cook these until fragrant and just starting to brown. Next, add the white wine and capers, using caution as it gets steamy. Stir everything together and loosen any brown bits leftover on the bottom of the pan from the chicken. Simmer and reduce by half at least. Next add the water and butter, stirring and shaking the pan constantly to emulsify and bring together as the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer on low while the noodles cook.
Boil the noodles according to package directions. When they’re finished, transfer them directly to the pan with the sauce and toss around to coat. Nestle the chicken in with the noodles and sauce. Plate up and enjoy!
Notes: The only type of noodle that we don’t have very often with this is angel hair. We love angel hair especially for a side with some kind of chicken but in this case, it tends to soak up the sauce too well and you want some leftover for the chicken too.
A lot of chicken piccata recipes have lemon juice and/or zest and we tend to do ours without because it’s not Stew’s favorite flavor. The brine of the capers adds a different brightness and bite that’s great in this!