When it comes to food, we all feel our best when we eat delicious, home-cooked meals made from quality ingredients. Takeout can be fun, sure, but the healthiest and freshest way to save time throughout the week is to meal prep your weeknight dinners. That's one of the reasons we're obsessed with Prep, Cook, Freeze: A Paleo Meal Planning Cookbook by Caroline Fausel, the creator of Olive You Whole, a Paleo-based food and recipe website. Whether you eat Paleo yourself or you just want to have some fresh meals made from real foods ready to go throughout the week, this prep-ahead recipe collection is a total lifesaver.
Enter this chicken piccata recipe. Who doesn't love the creamy, flavorful taste of chicken piccata? Now you can make it at home, with the knowledge that it's easy to prep over the weekend and whip up quickly on busy weeknights. And it's totally Paleo-friendly. So long, sad weeknight dinners!
Creamy Chicken Piccata Over Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
- 2 1/2 lbs (1.1 kg) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup (95 g) almond meal
- 1/3 cup (43 g) tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp (5 g) nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp (12 g) salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 4 tbsp (60 g) ghee, divided
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) olive oil, divided
For the Mashed Potatoes:
- 2 1/2 lbs (1.1 kg) russet potatoes
- 1 1/2 tbsp (27 g) kosher salt
- 1 (13.5-oz [398-ml]) can coconut milk
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp (30 g) unsalted ghee
- 1⁄2 tsp black pepper
For the Sauce:
- 4 tbsp (60 g) unsalted ghee, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) chicken bone broth, plus more if needed
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (45 g) capers, drained
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 (5-oz [141-g]) can coconut cream
- 2 tsp (5 g) arrowroot Parsley, chopped, for garnish
Directions:
On Prep Day:
Slice the chicken breasts in half crosswise to create cutlets. Place each cutlet on a cutting board and lightly pound until thin (about 1/2 inch, or 1.3 cm, thick).
In a shallow dish, whisk together the almond meal, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons (30 g) of ghee with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of olive oil. Dredge each chicken breast through the flour mixture and, working in batches, cook the cutlets in the pan for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the chicken cutlets to a plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 g) of ghee and 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of olive oil as needed to cook all the cutlets.
Set the cutlets aside to cool. Once the cutlets have cooled, divide them into two equal portions. Carefully wrap each portion in parchment or wax paper and lay flat in a resealable or stasher bag. Store one portion in the refrigerator for cook night and the other portion in the freezer for reheat night.
Make the mashed potatoes by chopping the potatoes into even-sized pieces and adding them to a large pot. Cover the potatoes with cold water and add the salt. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pot and add the coconut milk, garlic, ghee and pepper. Use a potato masher and mash the ingredients together until you reach the desired consistency, or feel free to add all ingredients to a mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until well blended. Allow to cool, then place in an airtight container for cook night.
On Cook Night:
Remove the mashed potatoes from the refrigerator and put them in a pot on the stovetop. Reheat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. You may add a bit of chicken broth if necessary.
Remove the chicken cutlets from the refrigerator, unwrap them, place them on a large plate and set aside. While the potatoes are reheating, melt 2 tablespoons (30 g) of the ghee in a large straight-sided sauté pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and shallot and sauté until the shallot is tender and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth and scrape off the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon juice, capers and salt.
Add the chicken cutlets to the pan and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce has thickened a bit, 5 to 7 minutes, turning the cutlets halfway through.
In a small bowl, combine the coconut cream and arrowroot. Whisk, then slowly add the mixture to the piccata in the pan. Stir to combine and heat through.
To serve, spoon the mashed potatoes into a large circle in the middle of each plate, add the chicken piccata with sauce and garnish with chopped parsley.
On Reheat Night:
To thaw the breaded chicken, move it from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before reheat night. Make the mashed potatoes using the instructions on prep day, then follow the instructions for cook night. (Using additional “sauce” ingredients above.)
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Recipe and photos courtesy of Prep, Cook, Freeze: A Paleo Meal Planning Cookbook.
This post has been updated.
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