Get next to someone you love when you make this Chicken Piccata recipe from Ina Garten, ’cause it’s gonna make you pucker!

Super lemony and super tart – that’s how I would describe the sauce for this dish.  If that’s how you like your piccata, go for it!  If not, you’d better tone it down a bit.

Chicken Piccata, from Barefoot Contessa at Home, was Lindsey of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings‘ pick for the Barefoot Bloggers.  This is actually one of my favorite dishes – I love the combination of lemon, white wine and butter.  I also love a few capers in my piccata sauce, so I added them to this recipe.

I did cheat a little by buying chicken cutlets to use instead of pounding out chicken breasts, just to cut down on the prep time.  The breading makes the chicken cook up with a nice crust and the husband and kids really enjoyed it sans sauce.  I did have a lot of flour and breadcrumbs leftover after breading six cutlets, so I would reduce the amounts for those the next time.

And like I mentioned previously, the lemon sauce was really lemony.  I would probably leave out the lemon halves and cut back some on the amount of lemon juice, and possibly add a little more wine and butter to suit my taste.

Overall a very good recipe, especially for sharing.  Grab a fork and pucker up!

Chicken Piccata

from Barefoot Contessa at Home

serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• Good olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Sliced lemon, for serving
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
5. For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.