Twisted Chicken Piccata

I'm sitting here searching for words to describe this absolutely fantastic dinner that we just ate. Wow. (Apparently, I'm truly gifted with words tonight.) I've eaten chicken piccata at different restaurants. I've made chicken piccata at home. But it has never tasted like this in the past. This is a fantastic classic Chicken Piccata dish, with a surprising ingredient twist. We all really enjoyed this meal and it has already been requested again. I served the chicken with a delicious polenta and I will share that recipe tomorrow.

My husband chose this recipe from my Secret Recipe Club blog assignment Delishhh. I have several more recipes bookmarked to try in the future. Delishhh is written by Ewa; she cooks and writes about recipes from all over the world.Thanks, Ewa, this recipe is officially one of my favorites now.

The surprise ingredient? Soy sauce! No kidding. When I stumbled onto this recipe, I did a double take. Soy Sauce in an Italian recipe? Yes, and it is FANTASTIC. Ewa wrote that she does a quick marinade of the chicken in soy sauce while she preps the other ingredients. Well, in the way that life happens, time ran away from me and that quick marinade was closer to half an hour or so. The soy sauce worked it's magic and produced an underlying flavor that couldn't possibly be beat. I'm already looking forward to making this again.

Twisted Chicken Piccata
recipe adapted from Delishhh

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, approximately 2 lbs total
1 cup olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
2 eggs
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
2/3 cup AP flour
8 tablespoons butter, divided
10 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 cup dry white wine, I used a chardonnay
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, I used two large lemons
1/4 cup capers
optional: 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Place your chicken breasts in a gallon size freezer strength ziploc bag, one at a time, and pound them to an even 1/4" thickness. Once they have all been thinned as much as possible, place them all back into the ziploc bag and add the soy sauce, 1/2 cup of olive oil, salt and pepper. Seal the bag and let the chicken rest on the counter for 10-30 minutes.

Place two separate bowls next to your stove. In the first one, whisk the two eggs together. In the second one, combine the bread crumbs and the flour. Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil and 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter has melted and the mixture is hot, start making the chicken by dipping each piece first in the egg and then in the flour mixture, being sure to press it into the chicken on each side. Then place each piece right into the frying pan. I was able to cook two at a time in the pan.

Brown well on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve to a plate. Tent the cooked chicken with foil to stay warm while you prepare the sauce. (You can also place the covered chicken plate in the oven to keep warm if you would like. I found that mine stayed warm enough simply tented with the foil.)

Add the sliced mushrooms and 3 tablespoons of butter into the frying pan that you just used. Saute the mushrooms over medium heat for 5 minutes. Then add the wine, lemon juice and capers to the pan. Use a spatula to crape up all of the brown bits and then let the sauce simmer for a few minutes while it reduces by half. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and stir to combine. Plate the chicken and pour sauce over the top. Top with fresh parsley if desired. Enjoy!

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