Chicken Francese

With such a name, its hard to believe that this is an Italian recipe...very popular in the southern part of Italy. The name refers to the fact that its cooked "in the french style", using oil, wine and butter instead of a heavier tomato or cheese sauce. Its essentially "Veal Picatta" with thinly sliced fillets of chicken breast subing for the veal. Its very good! This is a variation of a recipe I discovered in Cooking Light Magazine.

Feb 15, 2011 - Serves 4
Chicken Francese

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 boneless chicken breasts skin removed..cut each one into 3 or 4 smaller pieces
  • 1/2 cup flour with a little S&P added.for coating the chicken and another tbsp later for the sauce.
  • 2 egg whites beaten with a tbsp of ater or milk
  • 4 tbsp oil (divided).
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion.
  • 1/2 cup white wine (not sweet).
  • 3/4 cup chicken broth (I prefer low sodium).
  • Juice of two lemons (or 1/4 cup).
  • 4 tbsps capers (or more if you like em).
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter.
  • small handful of fresh parsely.

METHOD:

Line up all the ingredients above ahead of time...it will really make things go easy
Using a large zip-lock freezer bag, insert the individual chicken pieces inside and gently pound to get them about 1/4 inch thick (placing a tiny bit of water in the bag will prevent the chicken from sticking!)
Dredge each piece in the flour, shake off the excess and then dip them into the egg-white/milk bath and allow excess to drip off. Then, ONE MORE TIME, dip the chicken into the flour again, shaking off the excess.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan and cook half the batch at med-high heat until one side is golden..about 3 minutes for the first side and 2 for the second side...transfer these to a plate in your warm (200 degree) oven. Then complete the remaining pieces in the same manner (you may want to add another tbsp of oil for the 2nd batch). When done, transfer those to the warm plate in the oven.
For the Sauce add another tbsp oil to the pan over medium heat and add the chopped onions, cook for a minute then add a tbsp of flour and mix well for another minute. Then add all the wet ingredients (broth, wine, lemon juice) and increase the heat to med-high until it begins to boil..whisking all the time until the mixture thickens a bit. At this point add the butter, parsely and capers and continue to stir until the butter melts. YOUR SAUCE IS NOW READY.
Remove the chicken from the warm oven to a large serving plate and pour the sauce over the top, garnish with a bit more parsely for effect, and serve immediately.

CHEFS NOTE: Line your serving dish with thinly sliced lemons...makes for a great presentation. Also, consider serving this on top of a bed of spaghetti
 
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