Lunch / Dinner
Orange Chicken Piccata
It doesn’t take much to break up a weeknight routine. Instead of making piccata with the typical lemon and capers, use orange and almonds for a surprising change of pace.
Look for small chicken breasts for this recipe, between 4 and 6 ounces, or cut larger ones into quarters before pounding them into cutlets. That way they’ll sauté quickly and uniformly.
The first step to making the sauce is to blend in the little browned bits of flour and juices from the chicken that are on the bottom of the pan, called fond. They’re packed with flavor. In order to absorb the fond into the sauce, you’ll simply deglaze the pan with some liquid — in this case, orange juice and white wine — and scrape the fond loose.
Ingredients
FOR THE CUTLETS, CUT:
FOR THE SAUCE, DEGLAZE:
Test Kitchen Tip
To make sure the cold butter creates a thick sauce without separating, add it to the pan juices over very low or no heat in a technique called mounting.
Instructions
For the cutlets, cut each breast in half lengthwise; cover with plastic wrap and pound to ¼-inch thick. Remove plastic and season cutlets with salt and pepper.
Dredge cutlets in flour, then sauté in oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until golden brown, 4–5 minutes. Flip cutlets and sauté 2 minutes more; transfer to a plate.
For the sauce, deglaze pan with orange juice, wine, and Dijon, scraping up any browned bits; cook until liquid is reduced by half, 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low.
Whisk in butter until melted. Add orange slices and return cutlets to pan to heat through.
Serve cutlets with sauce, top with almonds, and garnish with parsley
To make cutlets, slice the breasts in half lengthwise, then pound to a uniform thickness.
For deep flavor, scrape the browned bits as you add the juice mixture, then simmer to reduce by half.
After the butter is melted, add the orange slices. They add flavor and make a great-looking presentation.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per serving
Calories: 358
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g 35%
Saturated Fat 9g 45%
Cholesterol 71mg 23%
Sodium 81mg 3%
Carbs 15g 5%
Fiber 2g 8%
Protein 19g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.