Jacqueline Casey 
This meal is a solid staple and always a crowd pleaser. The real star of the dish is the lemon, garlic sauce that is creamy (even without any cream or milk) and topped with briny capers. After the chicken is browned and the sauce is made, everything cooks together for 20 minutes which leaves time to customize sides dishes. This pairs well with any pasta, rice or potatoes and any number of vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, string beans or peas. You can easily have this be a low carb meal by just serving with vegetables. I served with bow tie pasta and peas, spooning the chicken and lots of the sauce and capers on top!
Options, Substitutions and Tips!
- As mentioned in the recipe, if your chicken breasts are on the thick side, you can cut them in half. For example, my package of 3 chicken breast were close to 2lbs, so they were fairly thick. You don’t necessarily want thin sliced chicken breasts. Regular to thick will work best and are not as likely to end up dry/overcooked.
- For the white wine, I used Chardonnay, however, most dry white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio will also work.
- This recipe mentions making a Roux. What is a roux? It is simply flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. In this case, after removing the chicken, by adding a Tbsp. of butter or olive oil, you’ll be able to loosen any of the browned flour on the bottom of the pan that came from browning the chicken. You’ll then sauté the garlic in the butter/olive oil before adding the flour. When you mix the flour and butter/olive oil, the result should be a thick but smooth paste. If the flour is lumpy and not mixing, you may need to add a little bit more butter/olive oil.
- I used salted butter and between that, the chicken stock, capers and fresh garlic, I did not feel like I needed to add extra salt or seasoning, however, you could taste the sauce prior to adding back in the chicken and add salt or any seasoning at the time.
- What are capers? They are actually an edible flower bud that is pickled in a salty brine. You can typically find them in the jar section where you would find olives.
- While the chicken was sautéing, I boiled some pasta, then added peas and topped the pasta and peas with the chicken and spooned the sauce on top. It really was a perfect weekday meal.
- We had just enough leftovers for lunch the next day. This will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator and reheats very nicely.
Lemon Chicken with Capers
Chicken is sautéed in a lemon garlic sauce and topped with lemon and capers. Served over pasta or rice and a choice of vegetable, this is an easy weekday meal that takes under 40 minutes and is always a crowd pleaser.
- large pan or skillet with lid
- 1½-2 lbs Chicken Breast
- 1 large Egg
- 1 Tbsp Water
- ½ cup Flour
- 2 Tbsp Butter ((or Olive Oil))
- 2 cups Chicken Stock or Broth
- ¼ cup White Wine
- 2 Lemons
- 2 cloves Garlic
- ¼ cup Capers
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Create an assembly line work station starting with a cutting board, then shallow bowl, plate, and Frying Pan. Crack egg and add water into shallow bowl and mix together with a whisk or fork. Add flour to plate. Place chicken breast on cutting board. If your chicken breast are on the thicker side, slice in half lengthwise.
Add 1 Tbsp of butter or olive oil into pan and turn on low heat. Take Chicken Breast and dip into egg mixture, then into flour patting one side to coat, then flip over and pat to coat the other side. Place in frying pan and repeat this process for each piece of chicken.
Turn heat up to medium/high and brown chicken on each side, about 3-4 minutes. While chicken is browning, chop cloves of garlic. Remove chicken from pan and set aside (at this point the chicken will not be fully cooked through and will be sautéed later).
Add an additional Tbsp. of butter or olive oil and chopped garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add in the remaining flour to make a roux. This should create a smooth paste, if your flour is not mixing or is very lumpy, you may have to add a little more butter or olive oil.
Add chicken broth/stock, the juice of an entire lemon and white wine. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes and allow sauce to thicken. Turn heat back to low and add the chicken back in. Take the other lemon and cut into slices. Top the chicken with the slices lemon and add the capers on top.
Cover with lid and cook on low for 20 minutes. Prepare any pasta, vegetables or sides while chicken is cooking.
