Recipe: Low-Calorie, Piccata Style Chicken Scaloppini

Bring a little Italian to your dinner table. This chicken scaloppini recipe calls for olive oil, garlic, fresh lemon and a little whole wheat flour. Each delicious serving contains only 150 calories. Flavorful and simple!

Advertising Policy

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy

Ingredients

Sauce base

1 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoon vegetable base
2 teaspoons arrowroot
2 teaspoons cold water

Chicken

Advertising Policy

2, 5-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup 100% whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon capers
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sauce base

Directions

For the sauce base:

In a small sauce pan, bring 1 1/4 cups water to a simmer; then add vegetable base to make a stock.
In a small bowl, combine arrowroot and cold water to make a slurry. Whisk into boiling stock until stock starts to lightly thicken, then remove from heat.

For the chicken:

Advertising Policy

Trim visible fat and silver skin from chicken breasts, cutting each one into three equal pieces. Place chicken between cellophane, and lightly pound with a mallet to about a 1/3-inch thickness. Season chicken with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a 12-inch, nonstick sauté pan, add and heat 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of oil. Dredge or lightly coat chicken with flour, place into heated oil, and sauté on medium heat until juices begin to rise to top of chicken, about 2 minutes. Turn over, and sauté on other side, about one minute.
Add garlic, pouring the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil over it. Spread out and sauté the garlic until it begins to turn light golden in color.
While garlic is sautéing, add capers and parsley. As soon as garlic begins to color, add lemon juice and sauce. Shake pan, allow all ingredients to mix, and deglaze bottom of pan for no more than 30 seconds. (Further cooking in sauce will toughen and dry the chicken).
Remove chicken to a side plate and continue to simmer the sauce, reducing to desired consistency. Then remove the pan from heat, add chicken back to the pan to warm, then plate the chicken, pouring sauce over it. Serve with vegetable rice or your favorite side.