Summer Chicken Piccata

Every now and then, a recipe for chicken breasts catches my interest. This, taking advantage summer tomatoes, looked like a winner. Serves 2:

Summer Chicken Piccata

• 2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons diced shallots (about 1 medium shallot)
• 2 medium tomatoes (about 12 ounces), cut in wedges
• 1 tablespoon capers
• ½ teaspoon red wine vinegar
• Fresh basil for serving

Season the chicken breasts all over with salt and pepper. Add the flour to a shallow bowl or plate and dredge the chicken by placing it in the flour and turn to coat both sides evenly.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the mixture is bubbling, shake off any excess flour from the chicken and add to the skillet. Cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip the pieces over and continue cooking until cooked through, about 4 more minutes. Transfer the chicken to two serving plates.

Add the shallots to the pan and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and ⅓ cup water (this helps create more sauce and helps the tomatoes cook more quickly). Simmer until the sauce is reduced by about half, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the capers, the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the vinegar. Turn off the heat and season with salt.

To serve, top the chicken with the tomato sauce and basil leaves and enjoy!

My verdict:

You know that cooking chicken breasts always scares me because they’re so much pickier than thighs. That being said, these were perfectly cooked. The sauce was light and summery but lacked a little something. We both thought that maybe upping the capers and vinegar would be a start and maybe adding some garlic and olives to give it more of a punch. If you didn’t have basil, parsley would be fine.

Chicken thighs (what a surprise) would work here too. You could do boneless, skinless, but I’d be tempted to do them skin side down without the flour.

Use good tomatoes. In the winter, canned plum tomatoes would work.