A chicken piccata so easy you can enjoy it on the busiest weeknight!

No great story about this one. Weeknight. Tired. Hungry. That about does it. I won’t lie, I probably eat way to much pork and beef.  So, it was an odd thing that I was craving chicken (umm…that NEVER happens).  Being that it’s hotter than Hades, I sifted through my brain’s taste buds for something yummy but not requiring a lot of cooking time and could be served over something easy, like salad. Piccata it was. Now the trick was to make a piccata without flour. I’ve seen folks just grill it up or pan fry it naked, but I rather like the faint little coating on the super-thin chicken. I drew on my experiments with flourless fried green tomatoes and snatched up the quinoa flour out of the cabinet.  It was perfect. Quick, juicy, tasty, and done in 15 minutes. That’s a weeknight meal I can get behind.  And it’s pan sauce serves as a salad dressing. Win, win!

This recipe is only for two thighs since I was flying solo…just multiply for how many thighs you have.  Feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts–I just prefer thighs since they don’t dry out like chicken breasts can.  If you feel you need more dressing, either make more sauce or just drizzle some olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice over your greens. It’s that simple!

• 2 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Oil for frying (I like a tab of butter and a TBSP of olive oil for 2 thighs)
• 1/4 cup of quinoa flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup chicken stock (low sodium works best)
• 1 TBSP dry sherry
• 1 TBSP finely diced onion (red onion here)
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 TBSP minced capers, 1 tsp caper juice
• Salad of choice (I like arugula and spring greens, a wee bit of onion, and tomato. Microgreens would be great!)

Place your chicken of choice between parchment or freezer paper.

Pound to beejezus with the flat side of a mallet until about 1/4 inch thick. Even thickness is key.

Flattened chicken thighs aren’t as ‘pretty’ as boneless skinless chicken breasts, but I think their flavor is superior. Sure, trim the fat if you’d like…but it fries up nice and adds some flavor.

Salt N’ Peppa (yes, you may sing it) your chicken friend.

Place your boneless, skinless meat in between parchment or freezer paper. Pound the bejeezus out of it with the smooth side of a meat mallet until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Dredge through quinoa flour and shake off excess. Quinoa is a seed rather than a grain like wheat, and contains no gluten. It’s parent plant is related to beetroot, spinach, and tumbleweeds (how’s that for a family tree?!). It’s not a gut irritant and is often called a ‘superfood’ due to an abundance of protein, vitamins, and minerals.

Dredge through quinoa flour for a super light dusting.

Fry up your chicken until golden brown and cooked through. Don’t overcook though…no one likes a rubber chicken. Unless you’re a terrible comedian.

Place in pan and cook until one side is golden brown. Flip and cook until other side begins to brown. Be sure chicken is cooked completely through (thighs may remain a bit pinkish but should not be translucent in any way).  Remove chicken to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Do up your sauce…onion, sherry, stock, capers, and lemon. Reduce to thicken.

Add onion and sweat until translucent.  Add dry sherry to deglaze pan. Add stock and capers and simmer until reduced by about 1/2.  Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Swirl to combine.

Mmmmm mmmm..that sure is some tasty chicken!

Enjoy over salad with the sauce as dressing or place over zucchini noodles, pasta, or with side of your choice.

Slice chicken or place chicken thighs over salad and drizzle sauce over the top (I think slicing works better on salad). Dig in.  This dinner’s so quick you might even have time to clean the kitchen AND relax before heading off to bed!

Feel free to eat over pasta with a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley or serve over zucchini noodles if that’s your bag.  It’s good any way you can get it!