It was only a matter of time before someone in our group picked the most obvious challenge ingredient… after all, we DO call ourselves Capers, eh? Capers it was, then!
Making it even MORE fun, I finally got to catch up with our group’s founder after some 20 years (I can’t believe high school graduation was that long ago!). We’d been talking about getting together for dinner for a while, so when we finally got a plan in place for him to join my husband and I this weekend, I was pretty sure that the ingredient of the week just HAD to be incorporated.
Things being as they are, my timeline got a little out of whack and, though dinner was great (and the company was better), it wasn’t terribly pretty. So, though there might have been some cell phone photos taken and posted to the groups FB page, they weren’t anything I’d consider blog-worthy. Not to be defeated… I just made the same meal again for dinner tonight! This time… much prettier and totally worth photographing.
Capers are a briney little berry that I’ve never had a huge affinity for. However, I think I’ve finally found my magic combination… capers and cream (my friend Kathy incorporated cream and capers this week, too – check out her blog ::here::). The cream really mellows the flavor a bit leaving just a little salty zing. The walnuts add a lovely crunch and don’t forget to serve with a lemon wedge for just a little extra flavor. (We served this with wild rice and arugula dressed simply with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.)
Chicken Cutlets with Walnut Caper Cream Sauce
(adapted from Huffington Post’s Kitchen Daily)
4 thinly-sliced chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2-3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1.5 tablespoons capers, drained, rinsed and chopped
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
Accompaniment: lemon wedges
Arrange cutlets in 1 layer on a tray or baking sheet and season both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over moderately high heat until hot. Add oil and swirl to coat bottom. Cook chicken 2-4 minutes each side or until cooked through. Transfer to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat and when foam subsides, cook walnuts, stirring, until butter and nuts are deep golden and fragrantly toasty. Stir in garlic, and capers and simmer, allow garlic to soften, then add chicken stock and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes until sauce reduces by half.
Stir in cream and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture over chicken, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
