¬Chicken Scallopini
with Mushrooms and Piccata Sauce
The Meat
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
¼ Teaspoon Each of Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Italian Herb Seasoning
¼ Cup of All Purpose Flour
4 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The Sauce
4 oz of Sliced Mushrooms
2 Tablespoons of Capers
2 Cloves of Garlic Minced
2 oz of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (1 Lemon)
½ Cup of Dry White Wine
½ Cup of Chicken Stock
1 Tablespoon of Chopped Parsley
2 oz of Fresh Grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
6 Slices of Lemon
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. This will be used to keep the food warm.
In a small bowl, stir together half of the garlic and butter until well combined. Set aside.
Chicken scallopini is served thin, so we will need to cut our chicken breast in half. My favorite knife for this task is the German made Wusthoff Classic 8 inch chef knife. Its super sharp and slices through the meat smoothly. Place the chicken breast onto the cutting board and slice it horizontally. Our goal is to make sure that both of the chicken breasts are of even thickness. Once the breast is sliced in half we’ll cut it into small sections; If you’d rather have one long pice of chicken on your plate, then you can skip this step. Smaller pieces help with plate presentation too. Spread the breast pieces onto your cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, gently pound them so that they are close to even thickness.
Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add the salt, pepper, paprika and Italian seasoning to the flour and mix thoroughly. Dredge each chicken breast on both sides with the seasoned flour. Tap off any of the excess flour, then place each piece back onto the pate. Repeat the process until all of the chicken pieces are dusted with the seasoned flour. Some people will put the chicken into the hot pan as they go along; the reason that its better to do it this way is because you can keep track of your cooking time better ensuring that each piece is cooked thoroughly and for the same amount of time.
Next we’ll get the pan ready to sauté our chicken. Turn your heat on to medium. ¬¬-Add a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the pan. Extra virgin olive oil is a great oil to use for Italian food. We’re using Colavita extra virgin olive oil imported from Italy. It’s a bit more expensive than the bargain olive oils in the grocery stores, but when the quality of your food matters it’s well worth the difference.
Add the butter to a skillet, and double check that your heat is not too hot. Olive oil and butter are great to cook with in regards to flavor, but they both burn easily. If you have a digital thermometer, always keep your heat below 350 degrees.
Add in half of the minced garlic and cook it for about a minute. Garlic too burns very easily; so be sure to only cook your garlic for a minute before adding in the chicken. You can also tell when the garlic is ready because it gets fragrant when its cooked. So as soon as you smell it, you’re ready to move on to your meat.
Now we’ll cook our chicken. Check your pan to see if you need to add any more olive oil or butter. Add the pieces of chicken breast to the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides, right around 4 to 5 minutes per side. You might be tempted to put all of the pieces into the pan at the same time, but the resist the temptation and cook the chicken in two separate batches. The reason we do this is because we want the chicken to get brown and crispy. If you put all the chicken in the pan and overcrowd the pan, the chicken will steam instead of sauté. Once the chicken is cooked, put it onto a plate and place it in the oven to stay warm.
Check the pan to see if it needs more butter or olive oil, then add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and sauté them for 10 minutes until golden brown. You’ll want each mushroom to touch the pan so that they get golden brown and crispy. Add in the rest of the garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in the capers, lemon juice, white wine, and chicken stock, and give it a nice stir. Turn up the heat and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes to reduce. Adjust for salt and pepper again. Add in the chopped parsley to the sauce. Turn the heat off and allow the sauce to cool for a few minutes, then add in a few pieces of cold butter. This will help to thicken the sauce as you stir the butter in.
Remove the chicken scallopini from the oven and plate them on your dish. Use a ladle to cover the scallopini with the mushrooms and piccata sauce. Garnish with the sliced lemons and some more chopped parsley, and you’re ready to serve.
It was delicious!
Until next time,
Bon Appetit.
Ciao,
Mark
Wusthoff Classic 8″ Chef’s Kife
https://amzn.to/3AJz4fN