Chicken with lemon, the Italian version

There are so many idioms chicken, to interpret and cook it! Chicken is in fact a truly versatile white meat in the kitchen, with a tender consistency, neutral flavor, which goes well with aromas and condiments. We also have the possibility to choose between different cuts, and certainly the chest is the most precious part, as well as lean, if it is deprived of the skin, which allows us to make different recipeseven with a baking pretty fast. The Chicken With Lemon it is one of those quick and simple preparations, which enhance this cut of chicken, and which you will most likely have also encountered among the dishes on the menu of a Chinese restaurant, and which we can also comfortably prepare at home and successfully. This second dish requires few ingredients, starting with chicken breast, which we can find already packaged in more or less thick slices, or if we buy the fillet and we are skilled with the knife, we can get it ourselves. Lemon is the second protagonist of the recipe, citrus fresh with a bright color whose scent certainly recalls summer, but which we can find on the market all year round, guaranteeing us the possibility of making this recipe in any season. We will use the juice and also the zest, obtaining it with a grater, on which we will pass the peel of our lemon, previously washed. We will be careful to take only the yellow part, the sweet one, of the rind. The success of a good dish, even and above all when it requires few and simple ingredients, depends first of all on the choice of the quality of these. If we can find gods good lemons possibly untreated, we will have a lemon chicken with a genuine flavor and delicious scent.

Ingredients for 2 people

  • Chicken fillets: 250 g
  • Butter: 15 g
  • Lemon juice: 60 ml
  • White wine: 20 ml
  • Extra virgin olive oil: to taste
  • 00 flour: to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • Preparation: 10 minutes
  • Cooking: 20 minutes
  • Total: 30 minutes
  • Calories: 226 Kcal / 100 g

Preparation

1

If we start from the fillet we have to obtain thinner slices, if instead we have already bought the chicken breast slices this operation is not necessary, at most we can beat the meat a little to thin it, but often it is an operation that already does the Butcher.

2

Positioning ourselves on a cutting board, with a sharp smooth-bladed meat knife, we help ourselves with our free hand, pressing it on the upper part of the fillet and with the knife we ​​cut the meat (about halfway thick, between the cutting board and our hand) on the side horizontally with respect to the work surface. We pass the knife inside the breast, sliding it under the supporting hand, gently (because the meat is tender and could easily break). We do not get to the end, leaving a border of half a centimeter, so that by opening the meat like a book, the two edges remain together, becoming a single slice. Let’s beat gently (and we can interpose a sheet of parchment paper) with a meat mallet, to even out the thickness.

3

Flour the chicken breasts, without worrying about removing any excess flour, because it will help in the formation of the sauce.

4

In a non-stick pan, heat a drizzle of oil and a knob of butter.

5

When the butter is almost completely melted, place our chicken slices, and let them brown on both sides for about 10 minutes, over medium heat.

6

Add the white wine and let it evaporate for about 5 minutes. At this point, lower the heat, add the lemon juice, and also a little of the grated zest to enhance the aroma. Season with salt, and leave to flavor for another 5 minutes. If the sauce is too slow, or liquid, we can add a pinch of flour directly into the sauce, to thicken it, letting it melt for a few minutes on a low heat.

storage

As far as 2 days in a closed container, in the fridge.

Variants

We can embellish this recipe by adding fresh grated ginger or parsley. Lemon is an ever-present ingredient in our cuisine, but we can also range from its relatives. We can in fact make this recipe replacing the orange instead of lemon, following the same procedures.

The last variant that I propose is to change the shape of this dish. Instead of using only the breast, you can use the whole chicken, seasoned with lemon juice, oil, a clove of garlic, and herbs, and continue cooking in the oven. 180 ° C for about 1 hour of cooking.

Curiosity

The Chicken With Lemon is an international recipe, where each tradition follows specific preparations, which differ in the sauce (for example in some countries it is used to add mustard, soy sauce, or create a sweet and sour sauce), or for the preparation of chicken (fried, in batter or baked).

Ingredients for 2 people

  • Chicken fillets: 250 g
  • Butter: 15 g
  • Lemon juice: 60 ml
  • White wine: 20 ml
  • Extra virgin olive oil: to taste
  • 00 flour: to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • Preparation: 10 minutes
  • Cooking: 20 minutes
  • Total: 30 minutes
  • Calories: 226 Kcal / 100 g
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Philip Owell

Professional blogger, here to bring you new and interesting content every time you visit our blog.