You're probably wondering why there's a picture of a yogurt container in a post about Chicken Piccata. Well, there's a very good reason. It's because yogurt makes an excellent marinade and tenderizer. Yogurt is not an unusual ingredient, most of us have it in our fridge.Spending just a few minutes creating a quick marinade for a healthy protein such as chicken or a firm fish can ensure you have a tasty entrée that's moist and flavorful.
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Ingredients
For this recipe you will need:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Plain yogurt
- Flour
- Paprika
- Olive oil
- Butter
- Fresh lemon juice
- Pepper Sauce
- Garlic
- Vermouth - not sweet
- Chicken Broth
- Capers
Why use yogurt in Chicken Piccata
Some marinades are too acidic or the enzymatic ingredients such as pineapple and papaya juices. These strong marinades break down the muscle fibers and collagen which makes the food mushy.
Acidic marinades can toughen the food. This is just the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish.
What we want to happen is for the poultry tissue to break down causing the meat to be juicier.
Your best choice is yogurt which is mildly acidic, giving the meat a great flavor while ensuring it's tender.
The only caveat is that you cannot use yogurt on delicate-fleshed fish, but tuna, swordfish or salmon are good choices.
How to use a Yogurt Marinade with meats
For this dish we used chicken but you could substitute turkey cutlets or veal as another option.
Before we put the chicken breast in the yogurt we gently pounded the chicken in order to get a more uniform piece of meat. The meat will then cook uniformly.
The yogurt marinade process
- After we finish tenderizing the breasts we coat the chicken with the yogurt and place them in a zip lock bag.
- We let them marinate for eight hours.
- When we were ready to make the dish, we pat the chicken dry with a paper towel.
- Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Rules for marinating safely
- Container to use: Use food-safe plastic bags, food grade plastic containers, stainless steel, or glass containers to marinate food.
- Where to marinate: Always marinate food in a covered container in the refrigerator.
- Never reuse marinade: If you plan on using some marinade as a sauce, make extra and reserve a portion before putting raw meat or poultry in it.
- Storing marinated food: You can store marinated poultry in the fridge for two days. Beef, venison, veal, pork, and lamb roasts, chops, and steaks may be marinated up to 5 days.
Although we've made a Piccata before with the sea trout, the flavor is different due to the yogurt marinade and the addition of the white vermouth.
This dish is delicious served with pasta, rice, farro, couscous or quinoa. We served it with couscous tossed with baby spinach and mushrooms.
This is a great recipe that's easy to make. A great weeknight meal or a fantastic company dish.
More one-pan chicken recipes you may enjoy
- One-pan Italian Garlic Lemon Chicken
- Chicken Marsala Easy Delicious One-pan Meal
- The Ultimate Chicken Vesuvio with Mushrooms
- Chipotle Cashew Chicken With Brown Rice
These recipes are easy and very tasty!
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
YOU MAY NEED. . .
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Yogurt Marinated Chicken Piccata: Weeknight Gourmet Dish
This is an easy chicken dinner that reaches weeknight gourmet status. A little preparation gets you chicken breasts that are amazingly tender and juicy. There is hardly any cooking time once the breasts are removed from the yogurt marinade. See if your family doesn't think this is one of the best chicken recipes they've ever tasted. The sauce is so good you'll want to spoon it up like soup. We promise!!
If you like this recipe, please consider giving it a five-star rating.
Yogurt Marinated Chicken Piccata { Pollo alla Piccata}
Ingredients
- 8 oz. plain yogurt
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup flour
- 1 tsp. paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 1 ½ Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- Few drops of pepper sauce or cayenne optional
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup white vermouth
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 ½ Tbsp. capers
Instructions
- Eight hours before you plan on making the chicken, coat the chicken in yogurt and put it in a zip lock bag -- marinate in the refrigerator.
- When you're ready to cook, remove the chicken from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Mix the flour with the paprika, salt and pepper. Dip both sides of the chicken breasts in the flour mixture.
- Put the olive oil, butter and 1 ½ Tbsp. fresh lemon juice into a large pan and heat to medium high.
- Place chicken in pan with olive oil-butter mixture and brown on both sides until done. (Add a little broth if needed to prevent burning).
- Remove chicken to a plate and keep warm in a 170F oven.
- Scrape up the brown bits from the pan that the chicken was cooked in and add the garlic, vermouth, additional lemon juice, broth and capers. Add few drops of pepper sauce or cayenne if you like it hot. Cook the liquid until it's reduced by half.
- Add the chicken back into the pan and simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Serve the chicken on your choice of pasta, rice, couscous, farro or quinoa.
Notes
- Crush some of the capers before cooking to release more flavor.
- Be careful not to burn the garlic; it will taste bitter if you do.
Nutrition
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