Chicken Picatta is one of my family’s favorite dishes. My family loves it as it’s wonderfully delicious, combines great savory and briny flavors – rich artichoke hearts, capers, buttery chardonnay wine, fresh lemon, served with fine capellini, and meaty chicken breasts. I serve this dish heavy on a sauce laden with artichoke hearts and capers – much more so than other recipes. I make a generous portion so that we always have leftovers that keep well in the refrigerator and freezer.
Ingredients
Organic chicken breasts – 8 – 12
Artichoke hearts marinated in oil – 2 large jars from Costco, 66oz or 8 small store jars
Capers – 1 large jar from Costco, 33oz or equivalent, or 4 small 8 oz store jars
Capellini pasta – fresh, Rustichella d’Abruzzo, or DeCecco brand – 1 box, package, or a pound
Lemons – 6 juiced
Butter or ghee – 2 to 4 sticks
Chardonnay wine – 1/2 bottle
Garlic cloves – 4 to 6 peeled
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt, ground pepper, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion salt
Method & Preparation
Boil water for the pasta – add in a tablespoon of salt – it takes a while to boil on my stove so I begin to heat the water right away.
Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, onion salt, garlic salt, and garlic powder.
In a large skillet/saucepan – ideally 12″ to 14″, add in butter/ghee and saute the chicken breasts over medium heat – cook for about 5 minutes per side until the chicken is mostly done about 155 degrees.
Add the fresh crushed garlic into the pan after you have turned the breasts once. As the chicken nears being done, add in half of the lemon juice to deglaze the pan slightly – this will also help season the meat as it rests in the oven.
Remove the breasts from the pan and set them into a covered dutch oven in the stove at 200 degrees, on bake – not roast or convection. The chicken is mostly cooked and we want to keep it warm, let rise to 165 degrees, but ensure that it does not get overcooked and too dry. The chicken will rest, and the juices will flow.
Add more butter and some olive oil into the pan, adding in the artichoke hearts, capers, additional lemon juice, and chardonnay wine. I usually will add in the equivalent of an additional butter stick or two – preferring ghee.
Cook the mix for about 20 minutes over medium-high heat, slowly reducing the sauce until it becomes thick.
As the sauce nears final reduction, cook the pasta until al dente. It should take less than three minutes.
Serve by plating some capellini, adding a chicken breast, and smothering with the artichoke caper sauce.
Various platings of my dish.
