Who doesn’t love crispy chicken fat, cooked with tangy lemon, and salty capers? Hmmmm, we feel it goes hand in hand. We have been whipping up chicken piccata for the past couple weeks. It is simple. It is tasty. Of course, we do it a bit differently; otherwise, we’d be like all the other chicken piccata cooks out there.
We don’t use dried-out chicken breasts; instead of we use succulent, meaty thighs. Dark meat really does have more flavor, and is moister than a breast. We don’t bread it, think “healthier”. No flour coating. No bread crumbs. Just juicy thighs, cooked until golden brown. We use lots of garlic, as well as finely minced shallots; just because we can. We toss in a sprinkling of fresh rosemary, a heavy dose of capers, and some marinated sun-dried tomatoes. Finished off with some rich chicken stock, and a splash of white wine, and a very generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Succulent. Really, it is succulent. Perfectly paired with a bowl of pasta, that is lightly seasoned; we used some left over that was seasoned with a little pancetta, garlic, and olive oil. Pass the green salad, warm crusty bread, and a glass of wine. Life does not get much better than this.
Do you add extra ingredients into your chicken piccata recipe? If so, won’t you share with us.
Recipe: Chicken Piccata
*serves 2
- 4 chicken thighs, skinless
- 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 small shallot, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
- 5 plump sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 medium lemons, one sliced into slices, the other used for juice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained
- kosher salt
- black pepper
In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil, over medium heat. Add the shallots, stir, and cook until soft; about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook another 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and put the shallots and garlic into a small bowl. Season the thighs with salt and pepper. Turn up heat on the frying pan, to medium high; add the thighs. Cook until golden brown; about 3 – 5 minutes per side. It will depend on the heat of your stove. I like to use a fork, and them them loose, from sticking to the pan. Once browned, remove and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Bring to a low boil, and cook for a couple minutes. Add the chicken, and shallot mixture back to the pan. Pour in the chicken stock, add the rosemary, tomatoes, capers, juice from 1 lemon, and the lemon slices; lower heat to a simmer. Cook until the sauce is reduced; about 20 minutes. Serve. Eat.
If you like this recipe, check these out:
Chicken Piccata with fried capers
She cooks. He devours. Culinary capers in an urban kitchen in West Oakland. Other half of Chez Us can be found @laudalino on Twitter. 
You don’t have to convince. I prefer the thigh over the breast and I totally believe it’s all about lemons and capers!
yes, thigh please! this dish looks fantastic, cant wait to try it, cheers from london!
i’m smitten with that top photo!!! wowzers
Your chicken picatta is gorgeous! I’m sure this must taste wonderful. I think chicken, capers, and lemon are a great combination.
This dish looks delicious, especially with lemon and sun-dried tomatoes. Love the pics: they’re great!
i am such a fan of chicken piccata! can’t wait to try it your way! looks incredible!!
It’s been so long since I’ve had chicken piccata, but I remember really liking it. I want to try it out with salmon. I imagine that’d be great too.
looks awesome – just one question… with your recipe, where do the capers come in? I can’t see them in the ingredient list or the steps. I love capers and think they’d go great with the rest of the ingredients, but I’ve never cooked (or heard of, actually…) piccata before, so want to make sure I do the right thing at the right time in the right amount. Your feedback would be most appreciated, as I’d love to have this on our menu next week!
I have recently fallen in love with thighs and this is a recipe I”m sure to return back to you. Savory good.
I saw this on tastespotting and it looks yummy – I love all the different colours you’ve got going on. I will need to try this sometime!
This looks amazing. I’m thinking about making it for my mum on Mother’s Day this Sunday. What do you recommend serving it with? Rice, pasta?
I love this version of chicken piccata! I tend not to do any breading either, so this is right up my alley!
Anita, I would serve it with some sauteed spinach, and a very light pasta. I served this with some pasta, that was lightly dressed with some warm olive oil, a little garlic, and toasty pieces of pancetta. Add a nice loaf of crusty, warm bread, and you have a lovely meal!
My mistake for reading this before lunch – now I’m really craving a bite with no chicken in sight! Lovely photos Denise!
Am I not seeing a “Print” button? When I checked browser Print Preview the image was not usable at all. Trying to print http://chezus.com/2011/04/28/chicken-piccata-sort-of/ for a Birthday Dinner tomorrow. – foodie30756@yahoo.com – now stuck with copy&paste into a word processor…
Wanted you to know that I repinned this
I didn’t have sun-dried tomatoes but will next time
http://pinterest.com/pin/208432288974629352/
Had it for dinner last night and was sooo much better than the old fashioned way
Really glad to hear you loved it. It is one of our favorite as well. ~ Lenny