Sauteed Lemon Chicken With Fried Capers

The other day at the library I found Sara Moulton's latest cookbook, Home Cooking 101 How to Make Everything Taste Better.  As I was thumbing through the book, I found a recipe that caught my eye - Sauteed Lemon Chicken With Fried Capers.   It looked delicious and was so easy to make.  I set to work. 

Chicken breast cutlets are seasoned with salt and pepper and coated with flour.  They are then fried until lightly golden on both sides.  When the chicken breast cutlets have been cooked, they are transferred to a plate.  Next  lemon slices are dipped in sugar and lightly caramelized.  The lemon slices are transferred to the plate with the chicken.  Now a delicious lemony sauce is prepare with shallots and chicken stock.  The chicken and lemon slices are returned to the skillet and simmered until the chicken is heated through.  The sauce thickens as it cooks.

Serve the chicken with some sauce and lemon slices over the chicken and top with the fried capers.  Wow -  this is the best lemon chicken I have ever tasted.  So tender and flavorful with just a hint of citrus.  The capers add some extra zing.  A very nice addition to the recipe.


Sauteed Lemon Chicken With Fried Capers
Home Cooking 101 How to Make Everything Taste Better By Sara Moulton

Ingredients:
1 pound skinless chicken breast cutlets, preferably thin sliced
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained, and dried very well
Flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large lemon, sliced very thin crosswise
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 1/4 cups Chicken Stock

Directions:
1. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, pound the chicken until it is 1/8 inch thick and transfer to a plate.  Pat the chicken dry and cut the pieces in half if they are too large to saute easily.
2. In a large skillet, combine 2 tablespoons of the oil with the capers and heat the pan to medium-high.  Cook, stirring until they are crispy, about 2 minutes.  Transfer the capers to a small bowl with a slotted spoon.
3. Spread out the flour on a piece of parchment on the counter.  Heat the skillet over medium-high heat.   Working with half the chicken at a time, season the cutlets on both sides with salt and pepper and coat them lightly with the flour, lifting the parchment paper on both sides to help coat the chicken and shaking off the excess.  Add the chicken to the oil in the pan and cook until lightly golden, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer to a plate.  Add 2 tablespoon oil to the pan.  Season and flour the remaining chicken and saute, transferring it as it is done to the plate.
4. Dip the lemon slices in the sugar, coating them lightly on both sides, and add them to the skillet.  Cook over medium heat until they are lightly caramelized, about 1 minute per side.  Transfer to the plate with the chicken.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the shallots to the pan and cook, stirring 1 minute.   Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Return the chicken and lemon slices to the pan, along with any juices from the plate.  Simmer gently, turning the chicken over several times until it is heated through.
5. Transfer the chicken to 4 plates and simmer the sauce until it has thickened slightly.  Spoon the sauce and lemon slices over the chicken and top with the fried capers.  

Servings: 4
 

 



 

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