Lemon Caper Chicken and Couscous
Piccata stripped down to lemon, capers, and butter powder, rebuilt around a pouch of chicken.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 7 min
- total time
- 9 min
- water
- 300 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Bikepacking
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant couscous | 3/4 cup | cooks on residual heat alone |
|---|---|---|
| Foil pouch chicken | 5 oz | drain nothing, the liquid is flavor |
| Butter powder | 3 tbsp | stands in for the half cup of butter |
| Chicken bouillon | 1 tsp | |
| Capers | 2 tbsp | drained and packed dry, or freeze-dried |
| Citric acid or lemon powder | 1 tsp | replaces two lemons |
| Dijon mustard | 1 packet | the single-serve deli kind |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | 1/4 tsp each |
Method
- Boil 300 ml of water. Kill the heat.
- Stir in the bouillon, butter powder, garlic powder, lemon powder, salt, and pepper until no lumps float.
- Dump in the couscous, stir once, and clamp the lid on. Five minutes, off the stove.
- Fluff with the spoon. Fold in the chicken, capers, mustard, and oil.
- Let it sit one more minute so the capers wake up, then eat out of the pot.
Piccata is a pan sauce built on lemon, butter, and brine, and none of those need a slow cooker or a fridge to happen. Butter powder rehydrates into something close enough, citric acid does what two lemons did at a fraction of the weight, and the chicken arrives already cooked in a pouch. The flour dredge and the browning step are gone; they existed to thicken the sauce and crisp raw cutlets, and neither problem exists here.
Couscous replaces the wild rice because it needs no simmer at all, just hot water and a lid. That keeps this to one boil and one pot. The capers are the part people are tempted to leave home, and they are the part that makes it taste like piccata instead of chicken and grain, so bring them.
Packing
Couscous and all the powders go in one bag; capers and mustard ride in a small screw-top jar so the brine stays put. Chicken pouch on top of the food bag where it won't get punctured.
Variations
- Instant polenta or mashed potato flakes instead of couscous if you need it gluten-free.
- A pouch of tuna works and costs less, though it changes the dish.
- Freeze-dried green beans dropped in with the boiling water get you a vegetable.
https://mealswithmaria.site/chicken-piccata-crock-pot-recipe