FOOD NEWS
Giada De Laurentiis' Most Popular Chicken Dish Is Also The Simplest
BY VANESSA NIX ANTHONY
In a recent Instagram post, Italian-American chef Giada De Laurentiis explained that chicken piccata is her most requested chicken dish and probably the easiest to make.
With a cooking time of 15 minutes or less, this crowd-pleasing dish is suitable for weeknight dinners and is a one-pan job with little cleanup afterward.
De Laurentiis begins her chicken piccata by generously salting and peppering whole skinless chicken breasts on both sides, although she says skin-on works just as well.
Before placing the breasts in a heated frying pan with olive oil and butter, she says dredging the chicken lightly in flour results in a "velvety sauce."
She removes it to a plate once it develops a "golden crust" and then makes the sauce in the pan the chicken was cooked in, deglazing it with chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers.
As the sauce is reducing, De Laurentiis adds the chicken with a couple of pats of butter to the pan to finish cooking, absorbing the bright flavor of tart lemons and salty capers.
Serve on rice, potatoes, pasta, or crusty bread. De Laurentiis says, "I love it because it's so lemony and because the chicken stays so moist with all the sauce — chicken heaven."