Good morning. With summer on the horizon, we’re revisiting the piccata pan sauce, a bright and briny pan sauce usually served over chicken cutlets, but it works over any protein!

• Let us know if there are other classic dishes you want us to break down (just reply to this email).

RECIPE BREAKDOWN🤯

The piccata pan sauce framework

A few years back Ethan covered the general pan sauce framework, which you can revisit here. Piccata is a great way to apply & learn the general principles of a pan sauce in a specific recipe.

What you’ll need

A protein of choice

• Chicken, pork chops, fish, etc

Roux base (thickener)

• A spoonful of cooking oil

• A spoonful of flour

NOTE: You can omit this roux base if you cook with proteins that are dusted in flour. Traditionally, the excess flour left in the pan from that technique is used to thicken the sauce.

Acidic cooking liquid

• A splash of lemon juice and/or white wine, plus extra water to thin the sauce

Aromatics

• A few cloves of sliced garlic

• A spoonful of capers, drained

• Lemon zest, if desired

Final adjusters

• A few knobs of cold butter to emulsify the sauce

• Salt & black pepper to taste

• A handful chopped herbs to finish & garnish (like parsley or dill)

How to do it

Piccata follows the same process as other pan sauces:

1. Cook the protein: Cook your protein of choice in a pan, and set aside. Leave any fond in the pan.

2. Make sauce base: Add cooking oil to the pan, unless there is an excess of rendered fat. Add flour and garlic, and toast over medium heat until fragrant but no color develops. Before the garlic or flour browns, deglaze with white wine. Add capers, lemon juice & zest. If the sauce is already thick at this point, add a bit of water to thin it out.

3. Adjust sauce & serve: Turn off the heat. Stir in one cube of cold butter at a time to emulsify into the sauce and thicken it into a loose glaze. Stir in chopped herbs, and adjust with salt & pepper. Serve immediately over the cooked protein.

RECIPE RECOMMENDATIONS ✅

Our best pan sauces…

If you want to try piccata for yourself or other classic pan sauces, here are some options:

FOOD TRENDS 🚀

Uncut ravioli sheets

Lazy or genius?

Cafe Chelsea in New York went viral for their uncut ravioli or ravioles du Dauphiné. People have been raving about the ravioli all over the internet, making the restaurant a highly sought-after reservation in the city.

• Before you scoff: although there’s not as much work at the beginning when the ravioli is made, there is an extra challenge of keeping the sheet together during cooking. The ravioli has to go from a boiling pot of water to a saute pan to a plate without breaking, so it takes some finesse to deliver the presentation.

But is it worth the hype and effort?

People seem to be drawn to the aesthetic of the dish, but reviewers also say it tastes really good. Remember, a big part of the flavor experience is visual appeal and novelty — so we’re not surprised this dish took off.

READER Q&A 🧠

Avoiding burnt garlic

Answer: Many recipes tell you to add garlic after the onion in the pan has cooked down some. The advice is because if you add it all at once, you risk burning the garlic before the onion has softened.

If you’ve ever wondered why garlic is more prone to burning, here’s why:

1. Sugar content

2. Water content

Sugar content: Garlic has a much higher concentration of fructose and fructose chains than onions.

• Burnt sugar compounds, like garlic fructose, taste bitter once they have gone past their caramelized state. This is why it can completely ruin and over power the flavor of a dish.

Water content: Garlic bulbs contain just 60% water compared to 90% in onions.

• The low water content makes garlic prone to drying out very fast in a hot ban, and when combined with sugar chains that want to caramelize rapidly in high heat, garlic will quickly go from golden-brown to burnt.

If you’re worried about garlic getting too dark — you can add a splash of water or cooking liquid to the pan to cool down the pan. Better yet — low heat will ensure you gently bloom the garlic in the first place.

Have a culinary question? Reply to send it in for a chance to be featured and get your question answered.

WINNING READER SUBMISSION 🏆

Tofu dinner

This week’s dinner winner is Kathleen M., who made a crispy tofu, broccoli, & carrot stir fry.

Reply with your best home-cooked food photos for a chance to win & be featured!

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: How to Drive the Anthony Bourdain Food Trail

In a minute or less: Is Grocery Store Shrimp Fresh?

What we’re watching: Best Trader Joe's Wine

Food science: Why Reduce?

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