Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms and Artichoke Hearts
Pounded chicken cutlets in a lemon and caper butter sauce, loaded with mushrooms and artichoke hearts, finished with parsley.
By Steven Russell
Italian
Pounded chicken cutlets in a lemon and caper butter sauce, loaded with mushrooms and artichoke hearts, finished with parsley.
Classic piccata is chicken, lemon, butter, and capers. This version builds it out for a table, folding in browned mushrooms and artichoke hearts so the platter reads as a full meal rather than a light cutlet.
The sauce comes together in the same pan the chicken seared in, white wine and stock lifting the browned bits, lemon and capers cutting the butter. A dust of paprika and a shower of parsley finish it.
Pound the cutlets thin, season, and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
Why An even, thin cutlet cooks fast and stays tender. The flour gives a light crust and thickens the sauce later.Sear the chicken in butter and oil until golden on both sides, then set aside.
Why A hard sear builds the browned fond in the pan that becomes the backbone of the sauce.In the same pan, brown the mushrooms, then add the garlic and artichoke hearts.
Why Letting the mushrooms sit undisturbed to brown deepens their flavor rather than steaming them gray.Pour in the wine to deglaze, then the stock, lemon juice, and capers, and simmer to reduce.
Why The wine lifts the fond off the pan, and the reduction concentrates the lemon and caper into a proper sauce.Return the chicken to the pan, finish with a knob of butter, lemon slices, parsley, and a dust of paprika.
Why The last butter gives the sauce its gloss and body, and the fresh parsley and lemon brighten the whole platter.
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