Chicken Piccata

Some recipies for chicken piccata use eggs and breadcrumbs to coat the chicken, but just using water and flour is simplier and gives a nice flavoursome coating, as well as the flour ing the pan thickening the sauce.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless chicken breasts
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 50g butter
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp drained capers
• 120ml white wine
• 25g finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise and then use a meat tenderiser to bash them flat so they're about half a cm thick all over.
2. Put the oilve oil and half (25g) the butter into a large frying pan and heat on a medium-high heat.
3. Get out two shallow bowls and put cold water in one of them and then mix the flour and grated cheese together in the other one.
4. Take a slice of breast, dunk it in the water with one hand, then put it into the flour and cheese mixture, using your dry hand to sprinkle flour over the top and coat it well on both sides.
5. Once coated, put the chicken breast into the frying pan and repeat for the other slices of breasts.
6. You don't want to crowd the pan, so might only be able to do 3 slices at a time,
7. Cook for 3 minutes and then turn over before cooking for a further 3 minutes on the other side.
8. Once done, place in an oven proof dish and keep warm in a 120 degree Celsius oven while you cook the other breasts.
9. Once all the breasts are cooked, keep them warm in the oven while you make the sauce.
10. Put the remaining butter, lemon juice, capers and white wine in the frying pan and bring to a simmer.
11. Simmer until the sauce is reduced in half, then pour over the chicken breasts in the dish.
12. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top of the breasts and then serve immediately while still hot.

Serves 4.