How to jazz up chicken breasts

How to jazz up chicken breasts

Serves: 2 - 4

Lemony, briny chicken and chickpeas!

How to jazz up some chicken breasts in 15 minutes. This is, of course, a play on lemon scallopini, but here I’ve bulked it out with a can of chickpeas and some fried capers for a rounded, quick, and easy dinner that feels just a little bit fancy.

There are many nights when all I want is a plain, simple plate of food. For that craving, it’s grilled chicken and greens - in fact, it’s how I start my new book. Sometimes, when I feel inclined, I jazz things up and here, it’s this lemony, briny chickpea combo.

We’ve spoken about my love of fried capers before, and here they add a salty, briny pop to the chicken. You then cook the chicken in that lovely, infused caper oil. Butter brings this sauce together, providing a lovely base for the chickpeas to warm up (and release starch = extra creamy), and then baste the chicken in it. I love it, and I hope you do too.

The most important thing here is to taste and balance your sauce to your liking.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons capers in vinegar, drained
2 single chicken breasts
Plain flour for dusting
Pinch salt flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 tablespoons butter
150ml dry white wine
80–100ml lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 sprig rosemary
1 garlic clove, grated
Pepper
400g chickpeas, drained
Lemon zest and rocket, to serve

Method

Drain capers on kitchen paper and pat dry. Set aside 

Place the chicken breast on a cutting board, rest your hand flat on top, and carefully slice through the middle horizontally to create two thinner pieces. Because the breast tapers naturally, one piece may end up slightly larger than the other. Cover the piece with some baking paper and pound with saucepan or rolling pin to even the breast thickness out (and release day's frustration) You are looking for about 1cm thickness.

Add a few tablespoons of flour to a plate and season generously with salt. Give it a mix. Dust chicken breasts in flour. Giving it a wiggle to shake off excess. Repeat until all pieces are coated.

Heat the olive oil in a frypan over medium heat. Add the capers and fry for 3 minutes until golden and crisp. Scoop them onto kitchen paper, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

Place pan back on stove. Turn the heat up to medium-high, add 1 tablespoon butter, and as soon as it’s melted, cook the chicken in batches (two at a time) for 2–3 minutes per side. They’re thin, so they don’t need long. Remove and repeat with remaining pieces. Set chicken aside. Turn the heat back to medium.

Now pour in white wine, it will bubble up. Scrape the bottom of the pan, ensuring to get all those sticky bites.  Throw in rosemary, grate in garlic and add lemon juice. Season with salt and lots of pepper. Simmer for just a minute, then stir in 1/2 a tablespoon of butter. When that's melted, stir in remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Taste and adjust to your liking. Turn the heat to low and add the chickpeas, swirling them around to warm through for about a minute. Add the chicken back in and baste everything with the sauce. If you're finding the chickpeas and chicken has soaked up the sauce, you can add a splash of boiling water.

Ladle chickpeas onto plates, top with chicken, scatter over rocket and lemon zest, sprinkle over those delicious crispy capers, and finish with a kiss of olive oil.