Chicken Piccata

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 cups seasoned dried bread crumbs
4-6 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons, approx.)
1/2 cup dry white wine
Chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley and sliced lemon, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between plastic wrap and pound it out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and pepper.

Mix flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on a shallow plate. In a second plate (or shallow bowl), beat eggs and 1 tablespoon water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third shallow dish. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg mixture, followed with the bread crumbs.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until just browned. Place them on the sheet pan while you cook the remaining chicken. Heat more olive oil in the pan and cook the remaining 2 chicken breasts. Place them on the same sheet pan and place the pan in the oven, baking for 5-10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe any remaining oil from the skillet with a dry paper towel. On medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add lemon juice, white wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter; whisk to combine.

Spoon a portion of sauce over each chicken breast; garnish with a slice or two of fresh lemon and chopped parsley.

Serve 4

Notes:

The texture of the breaded cutlets is fabulous! Nice and crispy on the outside; moist and tender on the inside. Perfect. I think the key lies in the short frying time, followed by baking in a fairly hot oven. The parchment paper absorbed a lot of the excess oil, which helps keep the cutlet from getting too greasy. However, the sauce needs to be doubled, at least for this family! I think I would add more butter and wine and keep the lemon juice amount as is. A small amount of heavy cream might be a nice addition to help stretch the sauce a bit.

I didn't use nearly all of the flour. Next time, I'll start with half a cup and add more as needed.

I served the chicken with angel hair pasta, but a nice rice pilaf would be tasty, too.

Modified from original recipe in Barefoot Contessa At Home Cookbook.