Chicken Piccata & Tuscan Marinade

One fun way to have chicken is to look to our friends who like to fry the good old bird.  With a nice rice pilaf I have found this dish to please the crowds. With some simple ingredients you to can turn out a nice chicken dish that will seem as if you were cooking for hours when, it literally takes minutes to prepare.

Your marinade is the key – be sure to use the below recipe for the Tuscan marinade for the best results.  You can make this with out the marinade, but I wouldn’t recommend it – as the bird can be fairly bland on the inside.  And after all – you are on a marination site.

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut in halves (8 pieces total)
• 1/3 cup Tuscan Marinade
• 1/4 cup flour
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1/4 cup parsley

Directions:

1. Using a piece of zip lock bag type plastic, place your chicken breast and using the blunt end of your meat tenderizer, pound your chicken until it is about 1/4″ thick.
2. Place your marinade and chicken in a zip-lock type bag and refrigerate at least 4 hours or for best results overnight.
3. In a shallow dish prepare your ingredients for your dredge by combining the flour, salt and pepper.  Remove your chicken from the marinade and dredge in the flour.  Shake off the excess flour mixture.
4. Heat your olive oil in a sauté chicken breasts until cooked through, and the skin is golden brown.  Remove from the pan and cover with foil.
5. Remove the excess fat from the pan and deglaze the pan over medium heat with the wine.
6. Stir to remove the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
7. Add the lemon juice, butter and capers to make a pan sauce.
8. Serve this sauce over the chicken and garnish as you desire with parsley.

This is a fantastic dish to serve over your favorite rice dish or risotto.

Tuscan Marinade

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons rosemary leaves, crushed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, coarse ground
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a small non-reactive bowl until well blended.

Place in a air tight container and this marinade will last up to a week in the refrigerator.  Be sure to shake before using if you do so.

Tagged as: Chicken, Marinade, piccata, simple, tasty, tuscan