Chicken Piccata with Spaghetti

One of my earlier posts on this blog was a chicken piccata recipe. I used to make chicken piccata probably once a week, because it was one of the only recipes I knew! But since I’ve committed to learning how to cook, I haven’t made it in probably 2 years (there are so many recipes I have to try, I rarely go back to my previous go-to recipes). So I decided to revisit the recipe with a few tweaks.

I’ve seen commercials for Land O Lakes Sauté Express products and just loved the idea. The Sauté Starters, made with butter, olive oil, and spices, are an easy way to cook up chicken or fish effortlessly. The Sauté Express Sauté Starters are specifically made for cooking on a stovetop and are portioned out in one ounce servings, enough to cook two chicken breast or fish fillets. So I thought the Garlic & Herb Sauté Express would be great in chicken piccata.

Because I use the same pan to both make the sauce and cook my chicken, my piccata is browner than most you’ll find in restaurants. So I apologize for the presentation. But trust me, the flavor makes it worth it!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 lb chicken tenderloins (about 8 pieces)
• 2 squares Garlic & Herb Sauté Express, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup white wine (whatever you have around the house)
• ¾ cup chicken stock
• The juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 box spaghetti (or your favorite pasta)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Add a large pasta pot with water over high heat. Bring to a boil. While waiting for the water to come to a boil, heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Combine the flour, onion powder, and pepper and add to a plate. Dredge the chicken tenderloins in the flour, shaking off the excess flour. When the sauté pan is hot, add 1 square to the sauté pan with ½ tablespoon olive oil.

Add half of the chicken to the sauté pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and reserve.

Add the second square to the pan with the remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil. Add the rest of the chicken, cook for 2-3 minutes on each side and remove from heat. Turn the heat up to medium-high and carefully add 1/3 cup white wine to the pan, scraping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon, stir for 30 seconds or until mostly evaporated.

Add ¾ cup chicken stock, the lemon zest, and the lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. At this point, your pasta pot should be boiling. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain and reserve the pasta.

Lower the heat to medium low for the sauté pan. Whisk in the butter until it is completely melted.

Add the chicken back to the pan and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the capers, stirring to combine.

Add the pasta to individual dishes, top with chicken and spoon the sauce over the chicken and pasta. Top with the parsley.

I wish this dish looked as good as it tastes. The sauce is SO good. The chicken is really flavorful as well with the help of the sauté express sauté starter. It really added a great sear to the chicken as well.

You don’t have to serve this over pasta, I just like having pasta to soak up the sauce. It makes for a really delicious meal!