Before I came to Japan, I used to cook Chicken Piccata fairly often. But once I arrived I wanted to find a one pot recipe and change out the ingredients a little bit so that children would enjoy it as well. I came up with this recipe that uses tender chicken thigh and I added tomato paste and sundried tomatoes to the sauce. I also used chicken consommé in cooking, not only to make sure that the chicken taste was enhanced, but also to make the sauce more think so that it can be used as a soup or served in a bowl is rice or pasta so it resembled more of a noodle dish. Of course it can also be served as lemon chicken over pasta, which is how it’s prepared in this recipe. I recommend garnishing this dish with lemon and using to suit your own taste.
Lemon Chicken with Pasta
Lemon Chicken served over Pasta is a fantastic meal that you will love. It’s easy to prepare and you can use the pasta of your choice, or rice if preferred. The sauce is light and soupy, and can even be eaten as a soup. It can be thickened with cornstarch before serving if desired- stir two teaspoons of cornstarch into a half cup of hot water and gradually pour it into the sauce while it is at a light boil.
Choose whatever pasta you like to go with the chicken. I usually use spaghetti, but penne or shells work just fine.
The lemon taste is not overpowering because it is a child friendly dish, but you can garnish with extra lemon so your guests can flavor to their liking, or add another lemon (or 1/4 lemon juice) during cooking if desired.
 PREP |
 COOKING |
 YIELD |
| 15 minutes | 30 minutes | Serves 4 |
| PREP |
15 minutes |
| COOKING |
30 minutes |
| YIELD |
Serves 4 |
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (900g)
- 1/2 cup pitted green olives
- 2 TBSP tomato paste
- 1/2 cup white wine (100ml)
- 1 large leek
- 2 lemons or 1/4 cup lemon juice (50ml)
- 1 bunch of Italian parsley – 6-8 sprigs
- 1/2 lb button mushrooms (about 16 small mushrooms)
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (500ml)
- 1 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1 TBSP capers
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 2 TBSP chopped sundried tomatoes
- 1 lb of the pasta of your choice (450g)
- Fresh lemon slices for garnish (optional)
- Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions:
Preparation
- Remove the mushroom stems and slice the caps
- Slice the olives
- Cut the ends off the leek and chop up.
- Chop the Italian parsley.
- Finely dice the garlic.
- Cut the chicken into 1 inch/2 cm squares
- If using fresh lemon, juice two lemons
Cooking
- Sauté the garlic in a large saucepan or wok in the olive oil over medium high heat until the garlic turns brown- about 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken and thyme. Sauté over medium high heat for 3 minutes until the chicken is white on the outside.
- Remove the chicken and set aside, leaving the remaining oil and drippings in your saucepan or wok.
- Add the leek and parsley and sauté on medium high heat for 3 minutes until leek is softened and cooked completely through.
- Add the sliced olives, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes and capers and sauté for two more minutes.
- Mix in the consommé and chicken, bring to a vigorous boil, and boil while stirring over medium high heat for 10 minutes while stirring.
- Add in the lemon juice, while wine and mushrooms. Do not stir. Turn down to a simmer and simmer, uncovered for at least 10 minutes.
- Prepare the pasta in accordance with the directions on the label while the lemon chicken is simmering.
- Serve the lemon chicken with the pasta. The dish can be served in a deep bowl and the sauce can be enjoyed like a soup, or it can be served on a plate with the chicken and sauce. Extra sauce can be used to top the pasta. Serve with fresh lemon slices and grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes:
- As an alternative to pasta, if you are counting calories you just can serve this as a soup, thicken or serve it as a stew, or serve it over julienned and boiled zucchini.
