A Flavorful Italian Dish, great for impressing the In-laws
This recipe came from my girlfriends Grandmother with a few small changes from myself, and was very tasty. I made this dish (with help from a couple sous chefs) for my girlfriends parents on mothers day. It was definitely a hit, and hopefully left a good impression. The Cherry Tomatoes were my idea but pair very well with the dish overall.
Serve this dish with my oven roasted broccoli or another side that pairs well with Italian dishes.
Ingredients:
Chicken Picatta:
- 4 large Chicken Breasts (6 if medium/small)
- 1 Small Yellow Onion chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- 4 Scallions chopped
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Marsala wine or other dry red wine (Have more handy if you want more sauce)
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (Have more handy if you want more sauce)
- 1 Tbsp Capers (if large capers, chop them)
- Flour
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 Tbsp Chicken Stock (Have more handy if you want more sauce)
- Thin Lemon Slices for garnish
- 4 Tbsp Chopped Parsley
- 1 Package of Spaghetti
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes:
- 24 oz package of Cherry Tomatoes (or larger)
- Salt and Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Aluminum Foil
- Optional: Oregano, or other italian seasonings
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425
- Line a pan with aluminum foil
- Add tomatoes to pan with a generous drizzle of olive oil, add salt, pepper, and garlic
- Mix tomatoes with seasonings
- Put pan into oven for 18-24 minutes, until tomatoes are soft and starting to blister
- Remove and serve with the rest of the dish
Chicken Picatta:
- Start by cooking your Spaghetti until al dente
- Butterfly chicken breasts and pound until about ¼ inch thickness
- Mix flour, salt, and pepper into a bowl large enough to cover chicken breasts
- Dip chicken cutlets into flour, press cutlets into the flour to fully coat them, a secondary coating can be added for a thicker crust
- Add olive oil to a large pan and saute onions, garlic and scallions on a low temp
- Once cooked through, remove onions, garlic, scallions but leave oil
- Add butter to pan and turn heat to medium/high
- Add chicken cutlets to pan in batches (be sure to not overcrowd the pan)
- Pan fry each side until browned and remove from pan
- After all chicken cutlets are cooked, add back sautéed onion, garlic and scallions (add more butter if needed)
- Turn heat to high, add marsala or red wine, lemon juice, and capers
- Allow alcohol to cook off, and sauce should thicken
- After sauce is thick, add chicken stock to desired thickness, cook until thick again
- Make sure to taste the sauce, and add in more wine, lemon juice, or seasoning if needed
- Serve with lemon slices, pasta, and roasted cherry tomatoes (I made my oven roasted broccoli as a side, it pairs very well with this dish)
Assemble:
- Start by adding pasta to plate (twirling with tongs for a fancier plating)
- Add half a serving sauce to pasta
- Place chicken cutlet on pasta with rest of sauce, top with one or two lemon slices
- Add cherry tomatoes to side of plate, with any other sides
- Dig in, and enjoy!
Tips: The amounts listed for wine, lemon juice, and chicken stock are rough estimates. You should try the sauce and add what you think it needs. Make the cherry tomatoes before you start the sauce so it is ready when everything is done. You may want to let the chicken sit after the fist layer of flour, then add it back to flour mix to get a thicker coating.
