You see, piccata is made with a fair bit of lemon juice and capers, making the dish taste tart. Until recently I have been of the opinion that chicken piccata is somewhat of a polarizing dish: you either love it or hate it. I once tried lemon chicken at a friend’s party and… quite disliked it. The acidity and the bitterness were overbearing. Perhaps, that’s what caused me to stay away from anything that has chicken and lemon in the name.
According to Wikipedia, piccata, when used in reference to a way of preparing meat, means “sliced, sautéed, and served in a sauce containing lemon, butter and spices”. When you saute the lemon juice with chicken stock, butter and spices, it transforms. You can taste a fair amount of tartness but it’s not overpowering. Instead, the sauce tastes very balanced and so tasty that you can just drink it by itself. This is my measure of a good sauce, marinade, pickling juice, etc. If I love it on its own and want to drink it, it’s good. So far we’ve been crazy about this piccata recipe. The whole family. In the last two weeks we’ve made it 5 times. It’s awesome! And it’s so quick and easy to prepare. The recipe is virtually fail-proof. Just make sure you stock up well on pickled capers and spaghetti, because you will be making this dish over and over. I guarantee it!
