Thursday, March 4, 2021

Chicken Piccata Florentine #recipe @lucyburdette



LUCY BURDETTE: I wonder if anyone else is absolutely dead sick of cooking during this pandemic? The truth is I’d be cooking anyway most nights, but it becomes a little more difficult because we’ve been trying hard not to shop at the grocery store more than every 7 to 10 days. And that means planning everything ahead. And working hard to choose and use the meats that are available in the freezer. And it’s winter, so we don’t have the vegetables in the garden or the amazing plethora of fresh veggies from the farmers market.

Those background complaints could explain that I did not know exactly what I was making when I started out to make this dinner. I was remembering a dish I used to make years ago with egg battered and pan fried chicken layered over spinach, with lemon and butter on top. But then the idea of capers came to me, so it became a mash up of piccata and Florentine. And it’s both easy and delicious, especially if you start with tenders.


Ingredients


1 pound chicken tenders

1 egg

1/2 cup flour, seasoned with salt, fresh pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

Butter

Olive oil

1 tablespoon capers

1/3 cup chicken broth

1 lemon

Spaghetti

Spinach

More butter and Parmesan cheese


On one plate, combine the flour with salt, fresh pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. In a shallow bowl, whip the egg.


Melt one or 2 tablespoons of butter and the same of olive oil in a frying pan. One at a time, dredge the chicken tenders in the egg and then the flour mixture and place them in the frying pan. Cook until brown on the bottom and then flip over to cook the other side. As pieces are done, move them to another plate while you finish the rest. 




When all the chicken is brown and cooked through, squeeze a lemon into the pan and add the chicken broth and a tablespoon of capers (or more to taste). Simmer a few minutes until the sauce thickens.


Meanwhile, heat your pasta water to boiling and cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and dress with 1 to 2 tablespoons butter and a quarter cup grated Parmesan. Steam the spinach until just wilted.



To serve, place the pasta and spinach on a plate. Layer three or four tenders onto the pasta and add a tablespoon of sauce with capers from the pan. Enjoy!





Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries

#11 in the series, A SCONE OF CONTENTION, is coming on August 10, and available for pre-order now! Meanwhile, enjoy the latest, The Key Lime Crime...

14 comments:

  1. Lucy, like you I cook most nights. But it has been exhausting to maneuver around things. Hang in there! ☺️
    Joliver284@yahoo.com

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    1. Yep we all have to hang in there and do our best until we get this under control!

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  2. I am sooo sick of cooking! It's my turn to make dinner tonight and I was already uninspired, but I think you saved me. I have all these ingredients, and my picky husband likes the majority of them, so I think I'll give it a go. Thanks, Lucy!

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    1. Hope you like it Mia. I had to chuckle when you said it's your turn--it's always my turn, and John cleans up. Which is a good deal almost always:)

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  3. I am blessed with an SU who cooks almost every night - and [very low-level] cursed with an SU who considers most greens "weeds. Still, this sounds very doable! Thanks for sharing.

    pjcoldren[at][tm[dot]net

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  4. This looks delicious! I love recipes with spinach and I'll try this.

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  5. People used to tell me, "Oh, you love to cook. You should open a restaurant."
    To which I would respond with something about HAVING to cook every day between certain hours would kill it for me.
    As this year has shown us, it can get pretty tiring when there aren't alternatives.

    This recipe looks good and it plates up handsomely. I think I'll add a touch of garlic.

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    1. You've nailed it Libby--having limited alternatives takes some of the joy out. But today we have friends bringing dinner over--Yay!

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  6. The chicken looks delicious, and the recipe sounds easy enough for even me...thanks for sharing it!

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  7. Be careful what you wish for. I was getting super sick of cooking, and then two weeks ago, we had a major roof leak (check your vents!!!) and have been living in a residence hotel since. There's a tiny kitchen but nothing I want to cook in. We've been getting delivery from restaurants and prepared food from local markets. I miss cooking a lot and will be very happy to get back to it - whenever that will be.
    I will definitely try this chicken when things return to (semi)normal.

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  8. We've been going shopping only once a month so I hear you about using what you have. My husband usually does the cooking while I do the clean up. This recipe looks fantastic and I have some gf linguine noodles that should work.
    Thank you!

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