Chicken Peccato
Chicken Piccata, made with lemon and capers, is an Italian American staple, and odds are you’ve had it at a family-style pasta palace before. Quintessentially made with veal pounded flat, this Italian-American dish is probably a lower-rent version of Italy’s veal scaloppine (meaning, thinly-sliced), the pounding intended to soften a less tender cut of meat. The dish itself is rife with Sicilian flavors like lemon and capers, not surprising as many Italian-American classics (like The Godfather) have Sicilian origins.
Chicken Piccata is usually made with pounded chicken breast, but I generally swap out breast meat for thigh meat if there’s no reason not to—thigh meat is more flavorsome and as a bonus you don’t have to deal with the faff of bashing chicken with a mallet. I also add a largish amount of fresh oregano, because 1. I have an enthusiastic oregano plant, and 2. I like the herbaceous freshness it adds to the sauce. I also swap out the broth for wine, since chicken thighs are already pretty chickeny and the wine adds a more complicated richness.
Etymologically, the dish is a bit of a mess; “piccato” strictly speaking means nothing particularly in Italian, though Google translate has it as “piqued” or “pissed off”, and a person as pucker-salty as this sauce would probably be described that way. But some corners of the internet think it holds antique meanings of “larded” or even “pounded”, relics of older Italian dialects. One modern Italian (my stepmother) suggests the word may derive from Spain’s “picada” sauce (meaning “chopped”) which is an aromatic Catalan pesto. There is even a school of thought that the word is a translation from the French word, “piquer” which means “stung” or “pricked”.
However, my Italian sister then informed me that “peccato,” means “sin”, which describes this tangy, buttery, wine-spiked chicken quite well, hence the name. Thanks Laks.
INGREDIENTS
serves 2-3
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, flattened to more or less even thickness
Salt and black pepper
1/2 cup or so all-purpose flour, to dredge
Olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 shallots, sliced lengthwise
1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed.
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup-ish (250 ml) dry white wine
6 tbsp capers, drained
Leaves stripped from at least 3-4 long sprigs fresh oregano (more is better)
MAKE IT A MEAL
Add EASIEST POLENTA and maybe a SIDE SALAD.
TIPS:
DEWAX THE LEMON!
You’re going to eat the lemon peel (it’s delicious cooked) so try to use an organic lemon (i.e. no pesticide) and wash the wax off by immersing your lemon in boiling hot water for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and then rubbing the skin with a dish towel.
DIRECTIONS
Season your chicken thighs with salt and black pepper on all sides, and then dredge lightly with flour, shaking off any extra.
In a large skillet, heat your olive oil and 1 tbsp of the butter together. Saute the chicken on medium-high, allowing it to crust and brown. For most chicken thighs, this will be about 5 minutes/side, but check for doneness yourself. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel and drain.
Add the shallot and onion to the oil and fond (browned flour and fat bits) in the pan. Saute for a couple of minutes until fragrant and beginning to turn gold.
Add the white wine, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Reduce by about half.
Add the capers, oregano, lemon juice, and the rest of the butter. Saute for about 2 minutes to let everything wilt and blend. Taste your sauce. Is it delicious? Salt if it needs it, and add some more fresh ground black pepper.
Serve the chicken smothered in the sauce, over something to sop up the sauce, like polenta or risotto or pasta.
SHOW YOUR WORK
Chicken Piccata is a classic recipe, and this version was liberally adapted from Ali Slagle’s version on The NY Times Cooking website.
