Barefoot Blogging : [Faux] Chicken Piccata

It's the second Thursday of the month again meaning it is time to post my completed task for the Barefoot Bloggers. I wasn't able to join the Barefoot Bloggers last month so I was hell-bent not to miss this month's challenges.
Up for testing is Chicken Piccata. The first thing that crossed my mind was " oh wow a chicken recipe at last!!! Yummy juicy chicken!!!" Then it hit me that for the entire season of Lent, as my sacrifice, I chose to abstain from eating pork, beef, lamb and *sigh* chicken.
I still wanted to proceed with the original recipe for the piccata but with everyone at home abstaining from meat and poultry and it would be a shame to see all those wonderful ingredients (as well as the money spent to buy those ingredients) go to waste, I decided to make a faux chicken piccata instead.
I checked our freezer and found my dad's stash of creamy dory fillets which are hard to come by. I nicked two pieces and let them thaw a bit.
I then prepared and measured all the other ingredients needed and proceeded to coat the fish in seasoned flour, egg, breadcrumbs. I didn't season the fillets with salt and pepper prior to coating them because the flour was already seasoned and i used italian breadcrumbs which were quite salty already. I figured I can always add more salt and pepper later.
I fried the fillets until they were brown on both sides before transferring them to the turbo broiler were they finished cooking.
For the sauce, instead of white wine , I used half of a shrimp cube dissolved in hot water. When the butter-lemon juice- stock mixture reduced, I spooned it over the fish and topped the fish with lemon zest and parsley.
Overall, the piccata was tasty. The fillets were soft, tender and tasty thanks to the coating of flour, egg and breadcrumbs and the lemon added a clean, citrusy burst that complimented the fish. The best thing is that it was a snap to make! A flavorful dish in minutes.
Here's the original recipe for Ina's chicken piccata.

CHICKEN PICCATA
recipe courtesy of Ina Garten and Food Network

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts [ i used creamy dory fillets. you can use any white fish fillets that you have]
  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• Good olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine [i used stock]
  
• Sliced lemon, for serving
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.

Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.