Last weekend, I ran tests on a batch of Black Spanish wine from last year’s harvest. The color is rich, it smells nice with just a hint of cinnamon and I declared the taste to be excellent. I’m looking forward to getting that bottled. It’s good when nine months of tending produces success.
So that afternoon, in a really good mood, I decided to play in the kitchen. I wanted to try a rustic Italian dish, and I settled on chicken piccata. Piccata is a preparation in which meat is sliced, coated, sautéed and served in a sauce. The sauce is usually made with a wine reduction and finished with lemon juice.
Chicken Piccata with Capers and Artichokes
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
flour for dredging
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 onion, sliced thinly
3 artichokes cleaned and sliced thinly
1 c. white wine
1/2 c. chicken stock
1 lemon, juiced
2-3 Tbsp. capers
Slice each chicken breast along its width (as though to butterfly, but cut all the way through) and then pound between sheets of plastic wrap until 1/4 inch thick. Heat olive oil in a frying pan while dredging the chicken in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Working in batches, saute two pieces at a time at medium heat until golden brown. Reserve on a paper towel-lined plate while preparing the sauce.
Using the same frying pan, melt butter and cook garlic, onion and artichokes until lightly browned. (A drained jar of marinated artichokes or thawed frozen may be substituted.) Add wine and chicken stock, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. The residual flour from cooking the chicken will help the sauce thicken.
Add lemon juice and capers. Place chicken pieces back into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is warm. Serve over angel hair pasta and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
That dinner was excellent. With the leftovers, I made a rustic pizza the next day. First, start with a simple pizza dough.
Pizza Dough
1-1/2 c. hot water
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. yeast
4-1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Combine hot water, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl. I use my mixer with a dough-hook attachment. When the yeast blooms, add half the flour and begin the mixer. Once that flour is incorporated, add the rest of the flour, salt and olive oil. Continue mixing with the dough hook for about 5 minutes. I have also kneaded by hand, and that takes about 10 minutes.
Once the dough is smooth, remove the hook and cover the bowl with a towel. Let rise for about 30 minutes. I made 6 pizzas from the recipe. Divide the dough and roll out on a floured surface.
Using a cast-iron skillet with about 2 Tbsp. of olive oil on medium-high heat, I fried each pizza round until golden brown on each side. Then I smeared about 1/2 c. ricotta on two of the pizza crusts. I sliced the leftover chicken from the piccata and distributed it over the crusts, followed by the sauce. I topped with strips of provalone cheese.
Heat the pizzas in a 400-degree oven until the toppings are warm and the cheese melts, about 10 minutes. I placed the 4 remaining crusts in a plastic bag and refrigerated for another dinner.