Mediterranean Monday! Tonight- Italian inspired dinner: Chicken Piccata

Well, it's Monday, which means Mediterranean night.

Tonight, I was feeling a little Italiano. I had capers, lemons and chicken breasts on hand and thought Chicken Piccata might be a good idea. Typically, this dish would be made with veal but I'm cheap, so chicken is the protein of choice. Turkey breast would be a good idea too- or any light fish. The sauce would probably even go well with shrimp. I'm serving a spicy, garlic broccoli dish as the side.

Here is what you will need for the chicken:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts- sliced in half crosswise. Here's a pic in case you aren't certain what I mean:

1/2 cup rice flour (I use this instead of wheat because wheat is not my friend. Feel free to use regular flour)
salt and pepper
1/2 bunch of Italian parsley, minced
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup of chicken broth
1/4 cup of drained capers
olive oil (to cook- about 1 tablespoon or so)
unsalted butter- roughly 2 tablespoons

For the broccoli:
4 cups of broccoli florets
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (depending on how hot you like your food)
1/2 cup of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Steam the broccoli until just green, immediately run under cold water until cool. Set aside until chicken is done and you are close to ready to serve.

For the chicken: Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge the chicken in the flour. In a large saute pan, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat, place two- three pieces of chicken in a large saute pan, don't over crowd it. Cook for maybe two minutes, flip and cook other side for about a minute (this depends on how thick your chicken is). Remove onto a plate, keep warm (cover with foil). Finish remaining chicken the same way. To the hot pan, add the broth, lemon juice and capers. Bring to a boil, scraping out any browned bits. Return chicken to the pan to finish any cooking, and rewarm- about 3 minutes. Remove chicken to serving platter, add butter to the sauce, stir to melt. Taste the sauce- add salt/pepper if necessary. Pour sauce over chicken, garnish with parsley. Rinse out the pan for the broccoli.

Finish the broccoli: over medium-high heat, bring the broth to a boil, add the garlic and pepper flakes. Reduce by half. Add the olive oil, stir to combine. Add broccoli to mixture, stirring to combine. Taste for salt, bring the broccoli back up to a hot temperature. Serve with the chicken.