Smoky Chicken Piccata with Herb and Paprika Butter

Start by preparing the herb butter. Finely chop the herbs and add them to a bowl with the room temperature butter and the paprika. Mix through until you have an even consistency then transfer to cling film and roll into a tight log. Place the butter into the freezer to set.

Prepare the chicken. Start off by adding the flour along with 1 tsp of paprika to a plate and seasoning heavily with salt and pepper.

Lay each chicken breast onto a chopping board and with one hand on top of the chicken breast carefully slice in half horizontally.

Once you have cut all the chicken breasts in half, lay each of them in-between two sheets of cling film and using a heavy pan or rolling pin bash out to about ½ cm thick.

Next, toss each piece of chicken through the flour before frying in olive oil over a medium heat. Fry for 3 minutes each side or until cooked through. You will have to do this in batches to avoid over crowding the pan.

Once you have cooked the chicken, add a little more olive oil to the pan and then cook the garlic for about a minute or so before adding the capers and deglazing with white wine. Make sure to scrape all the dark sticky bits off the bottom of the pan here.

Allow the wine to bubble away until reduced by half then add in the juice of half a lemon and reduce the temperature.

Take the butter out of the fridge and cut into cubes. Slowly begin to add in the butter to the pan, gently whisking to allow the butter to emulsify. You may not need all of the butter here to create the sauce.

Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, and a little sprinkling of parsley. Serve alongside a crisp salad, and some potatoes or bread to mop up the juices.