So there’s no mystery that Susan likes chicken, and I love cooking chicken – easy to work with, and it takes on flavors so well. This is a great little breast cutlet recipe that is simple to make, so we usually do it on a weekday with dried (not homemade) pasta. It’s a great example of so much flavor coming from just a few ingredients!
Ingredients:
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- Peanut or grape seed oil for frying
- 5 T butter, room temperature
- 1/2 C all purpose flour
- 1/2 C panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 C finely shredded parmesan
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 C buttermilk
- cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 C dry white wine
- fresh lemon juice (1 lemon’s worth)
- 2 T drained capers
- 2 T chopped fresh parsley
- Pappardelle pasta (dried or homemade)
- chopped fresh parsley and slice lemon for serving
Directions:
Trim the chicken breasts into 2-3 small cutlets each (we set aside any extra chicken to use in stir-fry later in the week), and gently pound out with a tenderizer mallet between some clear kitchen wrap. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
Gather together three shallow bowls. In the first, add the flour, some salt and pepper and some cayenne. In the second, mix together the egg and the buttermilk. In the third, mix together the panko and the parmesan cheese.
In a heavy bottomed frying pan, heat about 1/4 C of oil to shimmering on medium-high heat.
Dip the cutlets into flour to coat; shake off excess, then dip into the egg/buttermilk mixture. Shake off and drop into the panko mixture and press to get the panko stuck all over.
Add the prepared cutlets to the pan of oil and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. To keep warm, we use a cookie sheet with a grate in the oven (set to 170 degrees) – transfer to the sheet to keep warm.
Get your noodles cooking in salted water and when nearly done, it’s time to turn your attention to the sauce.
Drain all but about 1 T of oil from the pan. Add wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cooking until raw alcohol smell has mostly cooked off, about two-three minutes. Add capers and butter, whisking constantly, until butter has melted. Lower heat to medium and continue whisking and reducing until a creamy, emulsified sauce forms. Whisk in lemon juice and parsley, season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.
Drain your pasta (we toss it with a little butter and parsley to make it extra yummy). Portion the pasta and arrange the warmed cutlets on the plate. Pour sauce over chicken (Susan likes it saucy!). Garnish with fresh parsley and a lemon slice. Welcome to weeknight dinner heaven!
