Chicken breasts with artichokes, pancetta, and white wine make this Italian dish with exceptional flavors.
I was just thinking how often chicken dishes are on our weekly menu and how seldom I share those recipes. Must be because I think they're not special enough.
You know, you throw some chicken in the oven and call it a day. Easy dinner choice and if I change vegetables and side dishes, no one notices I've been serving the same chicken dish all week long, ha!
My go-to recipe is my mama's roasted chicken and as of recently, this garlic lemon chicken. I love the tender, juicy chicken and crispy skin but my doctor told me I should avoid the skin. He says he doesn't like my cholesterol levels. I say I can't be preserved forever.
To compromise, I make this Italian skinless chicken dish with artichoke sauce as an alternative. Its flavor is so distinctive, I forget all about the skin. Just don't tell my doc I use pancetta ๐
Ingredients:
- boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- canned or frozen artichoke hearts
- pancetta (can substitute with bacon)
- shallots
- garlic
- chicken broth
- all-purpose flour
- dry white wine
- resh parsley
- fresh rosemary
- lemon
- oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
- Cut the larger chicken breast pieces in half crosswise. In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon oil, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinade for about 30 minutes.
- Whisk flour and broth in a small bowl; set aside.
- Remove chicken from the marinade; season the chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add pancetta, shallots, and rosemary; cook until shallots are tender, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine to the pan and cook, deglazing the pan, until liquid almost evaporates, about 5 minutes or less.
- Stir in broth mixture and bring to simmer. Add artichoke hearts (thawed if using frozen) to the pan. Cook until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining lemon juice and parsley.
- Add chicken to the pan, turning to coat. Sprinkle with more parsley if desired. Serve with rice or pasta to sop up the rich sauce.
Italian Chicken with Artichoke Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- 1 cup canned or frozen artichoke hearts, halved
- ½ cup chopped pancetta, can substitute with bacon
- ½ thinly sliced shallots
- ½ tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
- 2 tablespoon oil, divided
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the larger chicken breast pieces in half crosswise. In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon oil, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinade for about 30 minutes.
- Whisk flour and broth in a small bowl; set aside.
- Remove chicken from the marinade; season the chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to the pan and cook about 5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add pancetta, shallots, and rosemary; cook until shallots are tender, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine to the pan and cook, deglazing the pan, until liquid almost evaporates, about 5 minutes or less.
- Stir in broth mixture and bring to simmer. Add artichoke hearts (thawed if using frozen) to the pan. Cook until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining lemon juice and parsley.
- Add chicken to the pan, turning to coat. Sprinkle with more parsley if desired. Serve with rice or pasta to sop up the rich sauce.
Toni McCormick says
Made this tonight. It was good. I get the healthier eating -- we try to do the same. I made some tweaks to it and have some comments. ADDED: more garlic, lemon juice, sliced 'shrooms, fish sauce (more umami) capers & bloomed Tuscany (Penzys) Italian herbs in the oil. The O OIL itself was a combo of Pepperoncini lemon o. oils. Next time I'll add parm cheese (I know, the whole watch the sodium, cholesterol, fat & carb notwithstanding). What I didn't care for was the color & texture of flour/chicken stock. Next time I'll sprinkle the flour over the aromatic mix and then add flour (after wine deglaze). I'm also not a fan of boneless chicken breasts so next time will be boneless/skinless *sigh* thighs. Since pasta/rice is on the NO list we subbed w Trader Joe Hearts of Palm "pasta". It has none of the above mentioned things -- including flavor--but we can indulge to our hearts content.
Jas says
Toni, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Your tweaks sound delicious. Adding Hearts of Palms pasta to my grocery list - I'm intrigued. Thanks for letting me know how you changed the recipe so that I and others will know about those changes too. It's so helpful!
Mel K says
Delicious!!
Jas says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Kathryn Doherty says
What a great, easy weeknight dinner! And I love that you change the sides to make it all seem "new" again ๐
allthatsjas says
Hi, Kathryn. Yes, that is an old trick - change the sides and you have a "new" dish, lol. Thanks for stopping in!!!