Chicken breasts with caper sauce

2
Points®
Total Time
43 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
28 min
Serves
2
Difficulty
Easy
If you’re a fan of capers and garlic, then this easy chicken dish is a must try. Chicken breasts are coated with a rich-flavored sauce that gets its luxurious, silky consistency from the butter-flour mixture that’s stirred into the sauce during the last few minutes of cooking. If you don’t have sherry vinegar, fresh lemon juice would make a good sub here. You could easily make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken thighs or boneless pork chops. Serve the dish over cooked orzo or angel hair pasta with a side of steamed broccoli spears. For a pop of color and fresh flavor, sprinkle the final dish with chopped basil, thyme, or parsley.

Ingredients

Reduced sodium chicken broth

1 cup(s)

Sherry vinegar

½ tsp

Garlic

4 clove(s)

Peppercorn

tsp, or 5 whole black

Bay leaf

1 leaf/leaves

Uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast

10 oz, 2 halves

Table salt

¼ tsp

Black pepper

tsp, freshly ground

Olive oil

1 tsp

Capers

1 tsp, drained

Unsalted butter

1 tsp, softened

All-purpose flour

1 tsp

Instructions

  1. Bring the broth, vinegar, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf, to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 3/4 cup and the garlic is very tender, 8–9 minutes. Discard the peppercorns and bay leaf; puree the garlic mixture in a blender.
  2. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Add the garlic mixture and capers; partially cover and cook, turning the chicken, until heated through, 2–3 minutes longer.
  3. Meanwhile, mix the butter and flour in a small custard cup to form a paste. Stir it into the sauce until blended and smooth. Simmer until the sauce is thickened, about 1 minute. Yields 1 chicken breast half and 1/3 cup sauce per serving.

Notes

Capers are the flower bud of a bush, native to the Mediterranean. Nonpareil capers, the smallest variety, are grown in the south of France. The capers from Italy are large and are often packed in salt, so always rinse before using.