Parmesan Crusted Chicken Picatta

It seems people feel really strongly about Rachel Ray. Either they love her or hate her, but I got to admit I feel rather indifferent to be honest. Somehow I got convinced into getting a two year subscription to the EveryDay with Rachel Ray magazine by one of those teenagers selling magazines door to door, and during that time I realized that there were very few recipes that I actually wanted to try by Rachel Ray. Most of them were just meh for me. (Not only that, but I noticed that most of her recipes use a lot of ingredients. Like way more then I feel are necessary.) But the thing is, when I do make a Rachel Ray recipe it usually turns out great.

Like this recipe for Parmesan Crusted Chicken Picatta (it was actually titled "Parmigiano-Reggiano Crusted Chicken Picatta" but I thought that was a little long). I just love it.



I was a little nervous to use a whole jar of capers since I'm not a big caper fan, but this recipe is perfect. The pasta was lemony and salty from the capers, but not overly so. Quick and easy to put together, the entire dish had a freshness that I really enjoyed. Couple that with the crunch chicken and I was in chicken picatta heaven.



The only thing that I think could make this dish better is the addition of some mushrooms. I freggin love mushrooms so I never pass an opportunity to add them to anything, but I really think they'd compliment this dish nicely. I also added some breadcrumbs to the cheese coating since I wanted to make sure the chicken had enough crunch.

Would I make this again? For sure.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Picatta

Ingredients:

1/4 cup flour
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/4-inch thick
Salt
1/2 pound angel hair pasta
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
Juice of 1 lemon, plus 1 sliced lemon
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup capers, drained and patted dry, or 12 caper berries, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine (eyeball it)
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
One package baby spinach (5 ounces)
Pepper

Directions:

1. Place the flour on a plate. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs; place 1 cup cheese on another plate. Working with one cutlet at a time, coat the chicken with the flour, then egg and then cheese, pressing to adhere. Transfer to a plate.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it, add the pasta and cook to al dente, 3 minutes. Drain, reserving a ladleful of water.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, two turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until deeply golden, 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO, one turn of the pan, to the skillet. Add the sliced lemon, garlic and capers and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and parsley and cook until reduced, 1 minute. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer.

4. Stir the chicken stock into the sauce for 1 minute. Stir in the butter until melted, then stir in the lemon juice. Spoon a little sauce over the chicken. Add the spinach to the remaining sauce in the skillet and cook until wilted. Add the reserved pasta cooking water. Stir in the pasta and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining cheese and toss. Serve the pasta with the chicken.