Chicken Piccata with Spaghetti

Wash your hands and clean the work surface. Rinse and dry the lemons and parsley. Squeeze and measure 1/4 cup lemon juice, chop the parsley, and drain and rinse the capers. Cut the 4 tablespoons of sauce butter into small pieces and keep them refrigerated.

Bring the 4 quarts of water to a boil in the large pot. Meanwhile, on a separate cutting board from the prepared produce, slice each chicken breast horizontally into 2 thin cutlets. Place the cutlets between sheets of plastic wrap and gently pound to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Do not rinse the raw chicken. Wash your hands and clean the knife, board, and work surface after handling it.

Season both sides of the chicken with the allocated 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Put the flour in a shallow dish. Lightly dredge each cutlet, shaking off excess flour so only a thin coating remains. Discard the flour left in the dish.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon frying butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, add 2 cutlets without overlapping. Cook for 2–3 minutes per side, until golden, adjusting the heat if the butter begins to darken excessively. Transfer to the holding plate. Repeat with the remaining olive oil, remaining frying butter, and remaining 2 cutlets. The chicken will finish cooking in the sauce.

As the second batch cooks, add the remaining 3 teaspoons salt and the spaghetti to the boiling water. Stir and cook according to the package timing until al dente. Before draining, measure out 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Continue making the sauce while the spaghetti cooks.

After removing the second batch of chicken, lower the skillet heat to medium. Add the chicken broth carefully and scrape up the golden browned bits with the wooden spoon. Simmer for 3–5 minutes, until reduced to approximately 1 cup. Stir in the lemon juice and capers, then reduce the heat to low.

Add the cold sauce butter a few pieces at a time, swirling the skillet until it melts into a smooth sauce. Return the chicken and any collected juices to the skillet. Gently simmer for 1–3 minutes, spooning sauce over the cutlets, until each reaches 165°F in its thickest part. Insert the thermometer sideways into the thin cutlets for an accurate reading. Avoid a vigorous boil.

Divide the spaghetti and all remaining sauce among the four plates. Sprinkle the total 2 tablespoons parsley evenly over all four portions and serve immediately.