I am asked a lot, “what is piccata”? Well, even though it is an Italian word that means ‘larded’, it is also a translation of the French word ‘pique.’ piccata is basically a way of preparing food such as meat or fish which is sliced and sauteed in a sauce of lemon, butter and spices. This version is where I am using it as a sauce over pasta. You can use any type of pasta such as linguine, spaghetti, bowtie, penne, even orzo. I made this for the first time as a Father’s Day dinner and my husband went crazy over it! He can’t wait for the left overs…
Here is your shopping list:
1. 2 large boneless chicken breasts cubed
2. 1 lb. of Linguine
3. 6 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
4. 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter
5. 6 tbsp capers, drained
6. ¼ tsp chili flakes
7. 1 Large Lemon (juiced for 4 tbsp)
8. 1 C heavy cream (I substituted with Evaporated Milk for a lighter version)
9. 2/3 C grated Parmesan Cheese
10. 2 tsp thyme
11. 1 C White Wine
12. ½ tbsp of Chicken Bouillon
13. Salt and Pepper
While preparing the sauce, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Don’t forget to season the water with salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
Cube the chicken breasts and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with a small bit of baking soda and toss. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. The baking soda helps make the chicken super tender. Don’t add too much as it will change the flavor)
In a large pan, add 3 tablespoons of garlic infused olive oil. Season the chicken cubes with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and sauté over medium heat until the chicken is no longer pink.
If you are using olive oil that is not infused, this is the time that you would add some thinly sliced garlic to the pan of chicken.
Add the White Wine, Chili flakes, Thyme and Capers to the pan. Cook 3 minutes to cook off the wine.
Add the chicken bouillon (I like using ‘Better than Bouillon’. But if you are using a bouillon cube, take a ½ cup of hot water and dissolve the cube before adding to the pan).
Bring to a boil then reduce to medium heat.
Stir in the Cream or Evaporated Milk.
Here comes the good part! Add the remaining 3 tbsp of good olive oil. Doing this will give the sauce a silky and velvety texture. Cook until sauce ‘slightly’ starts to thicken (approx. 3 minutes).
Remove pan from the heat. Stir in the Lemon Juice. Take the cold unsalted butter and add to the pan and swirl until fully melted and evenly incorporated into the sauce.
This is the order of assembly for this dish:
Drain the pasta (do not rinse!)
Put the pasta back into the pot and add the parmesan cheese on top and gently toss until evenly mixed.
Add the piccata sauce with chicken to the pasta and gently toss.
Top with herbs such as chopped parsley and thyme.
Serve with Grated parmesan cheese on top.
Enjoy!
(Did you know that sprinkling parmesan cheese to cooked pasta prior to adding any sauce helps to hold the sauce better while creating a more flavorful pasta?)
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