There are only a few things I make with chicken where I keep the whole chicken breast intact. For whatever reason, none of us really like eating a full chicken breast. We would prefer to just have it chopped up or shredded in whatever we are eating. This is one of those dishes that you can easily use a full breast on top of the pasta and drizzle the sauce over, or you can chop it up like this and mix it in with the pasta when you serve it. I like it all chopped up and mixed in, that way all the bits of chicken are covered in all this delicious sauce.

This is similar to a chicken piccata, but typically, with that dish you would bread your chicken before cooking. You could make this dish using the same recipe and substitute the chicken for some veal or pork if you wanted to. You can also switch out the egg noodles for another kind of pasta if you like, I just think they blend very well with the dish.

This recipe is another family favorite, and if I do not make it often enough, I get requests for it. There is something about the way all of these flavors blend together that just makes it perfect. Of course, since it has heavy cream and wine in it, it has to be good!

** For the gluten free version, just substitute a gluten free pasta and make sure your wine is GF. You can also use this easy to find GF cooking wine.

Creamy Lemon Caper Chicken

• 1 pound of chicken breasts
• paprika, salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 12-14 ounces of egg noodles

For the sauce:

• splash of white wine, about a 1/4 of a cup if your measuring (I use Moscato)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1/2 stick of real butter
• 2 heaping tablespoons capers with juice
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 3/4 – 1 cup heavy cream (I adjust this according to how many noodles I use)
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional: sauteed mushrooms

Prepare your egg noodles according to package directions. When they are finished, drain them and set aside.

Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel, then sprinkle them generously with salt, pepper and paprika.Heat up a pan with oil in it over medium heat. Depending on how thick the chicken breast is, you will want to cook them about 3-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. When chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and cover it with foil.

You can see all the lovely bits on the bottom of the pan here with such a nice color from the paprika. When you remove the chicken from this pan, turn up the heat to medium high, and add a splash of white wine into the pan to loosen up the caramelized juices at the bottom of the pan. Give it about a minute or so for the wine to cook down just a touch.

Add the butter, and after it melts, add the shallots and capers, along with salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I shake in a little more paprika, just to liven up the color. Cook until the shallots are translucent, about a minute or so.  Add the cream and lemon juice and cook for another 2-3 minutes to allow the cream to thicken up, whisking/stirring constantly.

While you are waiting for the sauce, you can cut up your chicken into bite size pieces. Once the sauce is finished, remove it from heat and toss in the noodles, chicken and fresh parsley. Stir until everything is well blended together. Serve with your favorite vegetable and bread.

Sauteed mushrooms are a great extra topping for this dish.