I miss the days when I would come home from a stressful day at school to the smells of lemon, butter and white wine. As soon as I walked through the door, my taste buds knew what was coming; they knew to prepare themselves for the tanginess and freshness of the lemon, the crispness of the capers, and the juicy chicken breast in the middle of it all.
I always thought of this dish as something only my mom was allowed to make. Since living on my own in an apartment, I’ve tried so diligently to be as good as her in the kitchen but while I’ve made lots of improvement and attempted to make some pretty tricky things, sometimes you just can’t beat a homemade meal cooked by mom.
Prep time: 3 minutes Cook time: 15-20 minutes Total time: 18-23 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients: 1 chicken breast 3 tablespoons flour, any kind (I used gluten-free) 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons butter, divided ¼ cup white wine 3 tablespoons capers Juice from one lemon (about ¼ cup) Salt
Directions: 1. Cut the chicken breast in half horizontally so it is half as thick. This cutting technique is called “butterflying.” 2. Lightly salt the chicken breasts. 3. Pour flour on a plate or in a bowl large enough to fit the chicken breasts. Lightly dredge the chicken breasts in the flour. The flour will help the chicken brown.
Photo by Kelda Baljon
4. In a medium sized skillet, heat the olive oil and two tablespoons of butter. Once the mixture is sizzling, place the chicken breasts in the pan. 5. Cook chicken until each side is browned.
Photo by Kelda Baljon
6. Take chicken out of pan and set aside onto a plate. 7. With the skillet still on the burner, pour the white wine in to deglaze the leftover bits from the chicken breasts. 8. Let the alcohol cook off. If you don’t the sauce will be bitter! You can tell when the alcohol is cooked off when the amount of liquid in the pan returns to a similar amount as before you poured the wine in. 9. Add lemon juice. 10. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the lemon juice/wine mixture. 11. After the butter is melted, place chicken back in skillet and cook for a few more minutes. 12. Rinse capers and put in pan. 13. Cook for about two more minutes. 14. Enjoy!
Photo by Kelda Baljon