Easy Piccata Sauce Recipe with Lemon, Butter & Capers
This piccata sauce is bright, buttery and sharp from fresh lemon, with capers giving it the salty bite that makes the sauce so recognizable. I make it by reducing white wine and chicken broth before whisking in cold butter, because that gives you a glossy sauce without making it heavy or floury. The mistake to avoid is boiling the sauce hard after the butter goes in. Keep the heat gentle at the end and look for a sauce that lightly coats a spoon but still flows easily.
Ingrédients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small shallot finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons capers drained
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the shallot for about 2 minutes until softened.
- Add the garlic and cook for 20 to 30 seconds.
- Pour in the white wine and simmer until reduced by roughly half, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, lemon juice and capers and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Reduce the heat and whisk in the cold butter one tablespoon at a time until the sauce is glossy.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and season with black pepper and salt to taste. Serve immediately.
Notes
For an alcohol-free version, replace the white wine with additional chicken broth. Keep the heat low after adding the butter to help prevent the sauce from separating.