For those of you doing a Whole 30, or just sticking to eating less-processed food for your New Year's Resolutions, this is a really great option. Using clean ingredients and one pan, this Lemon Chicken Piccata is decadent, healthy, filling and has a vibrant sauce topped with toasted walnuts that gives it a serious crunch. This dish checks off all the boxes!
From time to time, we will clean up our diet choices a bit and I try to keep it especially clean, following a Whole 30 or Paleo-type diet. I have less stomach issues when I'm off gluten and dairy, not to mention, enjoy eating with some basic guidelines that keep me clear of bread, grains and cheese. I also love, bread, grains and cheese. SO, I'm non-committal. Then all of a sudden I come up with a dish like this and I seriously question why I am eating dairy and gluten in the first place when dishes like this taste so damn good!
The Details:
The Chicken:
I used thin-cut chicken breasts I had found on sale at the store. You can simply sub out chicken breasts. Thinly slice them and pound them out so they're nice and tender if you can't find. Using a meat tenderizer, hammer, skillet or anything heavy that packs a punch, place saran wrap over the chicken breast and hit it a few times to tenderize it. Done and done.
Almond Flour:
I used almond flour and Nutritional Yeast to flavor my breading. This is completely not necessary if you don't have it! Use a mix of Panko and Parmesan Cheese, Breadcrumbs or skip the breading step and just sear the chicken breasts in the pan. Whatever your preference!
Tapioca Starch or Arrowroot Powder:
This is just a thickener. If you don't have this/don't care about cutting out corn products, just use corn starch. Sprinkle it into your sauce and while the chicken finishes in the oven, the sauce will bubble and thicken.
The Tools:
I like to use a cast iron pan for this. It allows me to keep everything in one pan and then I can just pop it into the oven. This is the one I use and have used for years! It's easy to re-season, clean, cook with and has a nearly permeant spot on my stove-top next to my tea kettle.
Now to the How-To:
Not to be dramatic, but one of my favorite things to do ahead of preparing a recipe is placing all the items I need on the counter. It makes it go quicker, eliminates trips to the fridge, and ensures I don't forget anything. To be honest, when I'm cooking, it's during my girls' precious hour of screen time they get. That means I basically have no time to waste. Trips to the fridge just do not work. A little preparedness goes a long way in ensuring that single hour of time I have where they're both engrossed in the television means I can prepare my dish, take a few photos, and at a minimum, get the dishes into the sink and/or dishwasher before my little guy wakes up. No wonder I'm tired.
Moving on after getting up on my soap box, I prepared my dredging station ahead of dredging my chicken. Like I mentioned, I used thinly cut chicken breasts, but they were on sale and if you have chicken breasts in the fridge or freezer or can't find them, just use a meat tenderizer to ensure they're tender and/or use tenderloins. All of the above is fine. Mix up your dry mix, beat your eggs, and get to mixing.
I do an egg wash then a dry drip, then a dip in the searing hot pan filled with just enough oil to brown the dry dip. In this case, about 1-2 tbsp per batch.
While those brown, I zested and juiced my lemon, drained and measured my capers, lit a candle to off-set my incredibly potent "sweet onions" and chopped those up. From there, I washed and de-stemmed my kale and chopped it up with some kitchen scissors. Use kitchen scissors.
Also, always chop Kale witch kitchen scissors. And kid's food. Seriously. Thank me later. As a mom of three who managed to pull that off within 3.5 years of my oldest, kitchen scissors are the one thing I'm always shocked more moms don't know about.
After all of my chicken has been browned, I pulled it aside, added a bit more oil, and threw in the garlic. After cooking for about a minute until it's fragrant, I added in my onions.
This is where you get that tid bit about "scraping up all the brown bits." Seriously though, do it. It gives such great flavor to the sauce. As someone who only within the past few years understood the concept of scraping up the brown bits, I can assure you, it's worth it.
From there, add in your broth. Add in your capers. Keep scraping up the brown bits. Then sprinkle in your thickening agent. Keep it Paleo with Arrowroot Starch or Tapioca Starch, or use Cornstarch in some cool water and dump it in. Either way, the sauce will be watery if you do not add a thickener. Which is fine, but I preferred it a little thicker.
Then dump in the chopped Kale and give it a stir. Let it wilt a bit before adding the thicken back into the pan and popping it into the oven for 15-20 minutes. The Kale will wilt, the chicken will finish cooking, and meanwhile you're left with a delicious sauce to spoon over all of it.
Don't forget to toast your walnuts before you sprinkle them on top of your dish alongside some fresh parsley. And done. A delicious W30 and Paleo Lemon Chicken Piccata Dish with wilted Kale and toasted Walnuts. So good!!!
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