Fast and easy
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 4 ounces lemon juice
- 2 ounces white wine
- 4 ounces heavy cream
- 1 pound (4 sticks) butter
- 6 to 8 boneless chicken breasts (about 3 oz. each), pounded thin
- oil and butter for sauteing chicken
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper, for dredging
- 6 ounces pancetta cooked
- 12 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 12 ounces artichoke hearts sliced
- 1 pound cappellini pasta (i prefer linguini), cooked
- can garnish with chopped parsely if you wish.
- Carbohydrate 7.09056654320988 g
- Cholesterol 109.6 mg
- Fat 29.8027266666667 g
- Fiber 0.731200002551079 g
- Protein 3.52995975308642 g
- Saturated Fat 18.4530196666667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (329g)
- Sodium 76.4735061728395 mg
- Sugar 6.3593665406588 g
- Trans Fat 1.61860666666667 g
- Calories 304 calories
Step-by-step
- To make the sauce: Heat the lemon juice and white wine in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce by about 1/3.
- Add cream and simmer until mixture thickens (3 to 4 minutes).
- Slowly add butter until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm.
- To make chicken and pasta: Cook pasta and drain.
- Heat a small amount of oil and two tablespoons butter in a large skillet.
- Dredge chicken in flour and saute in pan, turning once, until brown and cooked through.
- Remove chicken from pan then add the remaining ingredients to the pan.
- Heat until the mushrooms soften and are cooked then add the chicken back to the pan.
- Right before serving: Add half of butter sauce to chicken mixture and toss, adding more sauce if needed.
- Place cooked pasta on each plate then put chicken mixture over pasta.
- Garnish with parsley if using.
- (or you can just toss the pasta in a large bowl with the chicken, butter mixture then serve.)
What the ingredient list omits is the physical transformation required of the meat before it ever touches the heat. Pounding boneless chicken breasts to an even thickness of approximately one-quarter inch ensures that the protein cooks uniformly within minutes. Without this mechanical flattening, the tapered ends overcook and turn fibrous while the thicker center remains underdone. Achieving proper contact with the hot skillet demands thoroughly drying the surface of each dredged piece of poultry with paper towels to prevent steaming.
The Mechanics of Emulsification
Building the pan sauce requires strict attention to thermal control when incorporating the heavy proportion of butter. Reducing the lemon juice and white wine base by one-third concentrates the acidity needed to balance the lipids. Heavy cream is then introduced and simmered for three to four minutes until the moisture level drops enough to support emulsion. Whisking cold butter into the warm liquid off the heat prevents the fat solids from separating into an oily pool.Managing Pan Texture
Maintaining crispness on the dredged chicken depends entirely on timing the final assembly steps. Returning the sautéed cutlets to the pan alongside moisture-rich mushrooms and artichoke hearts softens the exterior crust quickly. Tossing the ingredients with the emulsified butter sauce just before plating preserves the structural integrity of the pasta without dissolving the pan drippings into a heavy paste.
