Chicken Escalopes with Parsley & Capers

Although Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros is a very lovely book visually, in all honesty I've not been inspired to cook from it. Forgetting all the pretty layout and the cute photos, looking just at the recipes themselves, I find them to be rather simple and, dare I say it, boring in the main. I think basically it's just not my style of cooking, the recipes are orientated towards economic family meals and, although surely helpful for a busy Mum looking for something different and nourishing to serve her brood, don't excite or inspire me at all. However, last night I was low on energy and wanted to make something simple with a chicken breast and I remembered there were two easy recipes in this book for chicken escalope. One is with butter and lemon and the other, which I decided to go for, is with parsley and capers.

This was surprisingly tasty. I was needing some comfort food and the escalopes teamed up with some green beans and potatoes, riced to perfection by Mr. P with an unhealthy amount of butter and cream, were just the ticket.

Although the escalopes were quick and easy to make I would not label this recipe "Quick Midweek" as you need to serve something on the side and that makes it more time consuming and creates more clearing up. However, it's a simple idea that you don't really need a recipe for and so can cook by the seat of your pants as it were.

I had a large organic chicken breast that I sliced horizontally into several thin escalopes. You can do this yourself or get your butcher to do it. You then put a couple of spoonfuls of plain flour on a plate and give the escalopes a fine coating. To a cold, wide and heavy-bottomed pan, add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a crushed clove of garlic. Over a low flame heat the oil until it is infused with the garlic, do not let it brown. Now add the escalopes and fry gently until the under-side is golden, turn and season with salt and pepper. Fry the other side and, when golden, season again and add the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of chopped capers, and some chopped parsley. Add a little hot water to deglaze the pan and let simmer for a minute or two scraping up any bits off the bottom. I used a little of the hot water from the potatoes. Et voilà that's it! A nice little recipe for when you're feeling you don't want to get too involved in the kitchen.