Lemon-caper chicken, zucchini orzo underneath
The topping is built in the chicken's own pan, which is where the flavour was.
At a Glance
Story
A chicken breast is not one thickness, it is a wedge, and cooked as it comes the tapered end is dry several minutes before the thick end is safe. Lay a hand flat on top and press it out to an even depth before it goes in the pan, or split the thick half horizontally. Either way it cooks in one timing instead of two, which is the difference between juicy and merely cooked.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 4 oz orzo
- 1 zucchinihalved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlicroughly chopped
- 1 tbsp capersroughly chopped
- 1 ½ tsp Calabrian chile paste
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp mascarpone
- ¼ cup Parmesangrated
- 1 lemonquartered and deseeded
- olive oilsalt, pepper
Method
Three pans running at once, which sounds worse than it is. The chicken pan does double duty and is the only one that matters.
- Medium pot of salted water on to boil. Slice the zucchini, chop the garlic and capers, quarter the lemon.
- Orzo into the water, 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Drain, return to the pot, cover.
- Meanwhile, oil in a medium nonstick pan over medium-high. The zucchini in one layer, undisturbed, 2 to 3 minutes, until it browns. Add the chile paste, season, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Onto a plate, covered. Wipe the pan.
- Pat the chicken dry, season both sides with salt, pepper and the Italian seasoning. Oil in the same pan, medium-high, 6 to 9 minutes a side, until browned and 165°F. Onto a board to rest, and leave every scrap of fond where it is.
- Straight into that pan, a little more oil, the capers and garlic, 30 seconds to a minute. Off the heat, the juice of two lemon wedges, and scrape the base as it hisses.
- Zucchini, mascarpone and the juice of the remaining wedges into the orzo. Stir, taste, season. Slice the chicken across, sit it on top, spoon over the caper topping and finish with Parmesan.
If the fond is very dark, take the pan off the heat before the garlic goes in. It will keep cooking on residual heat and it does not need much.
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