Chicken Picatta Pasta

It doesn't look like much but this is one of my favorite dishes. Chicken picatta is usually a breaded chicken breast, pan fried in a lovely lemon-wine sauce with capers. I changed it to bite sized pieces of chicken in the sauce mixed with pasta. Capers can be a bit divisive. I can't get enough of them but others pick them out of the dish. A very important step is to drain and rinse the capers before adding them to the sauce. Not rinsing them makes a surprisingly big difference.

This is a good weeknight meal and it makes good leftovers! I usually make extra. Or I accidentally make leftovers because I am still incapable of cooking for just 2 people. It makes it a lot easier if you do all your chopping before you get started. I chop a clove of garlic, a shallot, some parsley, and halve a couple of lemons. Then the chicken gets chopped. Usually I will chop it into bite-sized pieces but I was feeling especially lazy that day and I just butterflied the breasts so they were thin and flat.

If you leave the chicken out this pasta dish could stand alone as a vegetarian meal or a nice side-dish. 

Chicken Picatta Pasta

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces or butterflied
• salt and pepper
• flour
• 1/2 lb pasta (tube shaped is best)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 jar capers, drained and rinsed
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley 

Salt and pepper the chicken, then coat lightly with flour. Cook in olive oil until golden brown and cooked through. Chop into pieces and set aside. Then in the same pan put a little more oil, the garlic and shallots and saute for a few minutes. Once they are softened, add a couple tablespoons of flour and let it cook for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with some white wine. Let it reduce and add some chicken stock. Let it come to a boil and add the chicken pieces back in to heat through. Add in about 1/3 cup of lemon juice and the rinsed capers. I let it meld together for another couple of minutes and add in the cooked pasta. If it's too dry you can add more chicken stock or some of the pasta water. Finish the dish with some chopped fresh parsley. Bon appetit!