I’m going to go ahead and say it: chicken is never my first choice when it comes to dinner. I’m not sure if it’s because I ate too much unseasoned chicken during my college years, or if it’s due to my previous struggles with cooking a perfectly tender chicken. All that aside, I’ve been teaching myself to love chicken more these days by creating recipes that are full of flavor and offer a foolproof way to cook the bird into nice, juicy pieces. Whenever I come across a recipe that involves either breading the chicken or throwing it in the air fryer, I know that it’ll be hard for me to mess up, so I’m always game.
One gloomy Sunday as I was putting together my dinner menu for the week and preparing my grocery list, I came up with the idea to make chicken piccata. I scoured the internet for recipes but I couldn’t find one that fully encompassed the flavors I was looking for. So, I set out to do what many chefs do and I combined elements of various chicken recipes in order to create my very own version. Chicken piccata can be enjoyed solo with a side of roasted veggies as you’ll see in this recipe with roasted rainbow carrots, or you can place it on a bed of angel hair pasta or rice. Either way you choose to enjoy it, I promise this lemon-y, white wine-enhanced crispy chicken is going to knock your socks off. Or, at least come close to it.
“While the origin of piccata remains cloudy, research indicates that the dish originated in the United States in the 1930s. It appears to have been created by Italian immigrants, and it was originally prepared with veal, which during that time was much cheaper than chicken.”
– Frankie Bones
Chicken Piccata with Roasted Rainbow Carrots
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb Chicken Tenders (raw)
- 1.5 Lemons (juiced)
- 3 tbsp Garlic (chopped)
- 3 + 1/4 tbsp + cup 100% Italian Olive Oil (extra virgin)
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup Sauvignon Blanc (or other dry white wine)
- 2 tbsp Non-Pareil Capers
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (optional)
For Roasted Rainbow Carrots
- 1/2 bag Rainbow Carrots (approx. 8 small rainbow carrots)
- 2 tbsp 100% Italian Olive Oil (extra virgin)
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together lemons, garlic, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add raw chicken tenders and stir to coat well. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate while you prepare your carrots, or marinate up to two hours in the refrigerator if preparing ahead of time.
- To prepare the roasted rainbow carrots, preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients listed for roasted carrots and toss to combine.
- Once the air fryer has preheated, set timer to 12 minutes, add seasoned carrots, and roast at 400 degrees, shaking carrots halfway through.
- Meanwhile, place panko bread crumbs and flour in a small dish and toss gently to combine. Remove chicken from marinade bowl and set aside the bowl with your marinade left inside; you'll use this later as part of the sauce. Coat both sides of chicken gently in the panko/flour mixture.
- Then, heat a deep sauté pan with 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 tbsp butter over medium high heat. Brown the chicken, one layer at a time, until each side is golden brown; approximately three minutes per side. If your oil becomes too hot, lower your heat to medium-medium low. Some of your oil may burn off during the cooking process. This is okay; just add a little more olive oil to re-coat the bottom of the pan.
- Remove chicken from heat and place on paper towels to soak the excess oil. Then, keeping the olive oil and browned bits in your sauté pan, lower the heat to medium low and add in the leftover marinade. If your pan is too hot, lower the heat to low.
- Add in white wine, capers, and remaining 2 tbsp butter to your sauté pan. Stir to combine, thickening and reducing down to 1/3 the original amount, approximately 5-10 minutes. Season with kosher salt to your taste preference.
- Once your sauce has reduced and heated through, drizzle over chicken and top with parsley and parmesan cheese to serve.
Watch my video on how to make this recipe by clicking here.
