Kit Keenan is a culinary artist (and now author) whose signature approach to cooking and entertaining stems from her Italian-American roots, a New York City upbringing, and early exposure to the fast-paced world of fashion through her mother, designer Cynthia Rowley. Serendipitously, during COVID quarantine, I had a column in NY Magazine/The Cut and featured Cynthia, who talked about her love of creative cooking and improvising new recipes (and, um, letting her little girl cut her hair). Kit came by her talent, honestly (cooking at least. Not sure about haircutting).
Kit’s passion for cooking compelled her to explore ways to put her own spin on the nostalgic dishes she grew up with: her father’s Brooklyn-Italian cooking and the recipes of her maternal grandmother and great-grandmother, reworked until they were her own. Along the way, she built an audience for her chic, effortless meals and carries on the family tradition of cooking for loved ones at her own gatherings.
Kit’s dream of sharing her recipes comes to life November 10th with the release of In Good Taste: Effortless, Chic Recipes for Every Occasion, featuring more than 100 relaxed, elegant recipes with an Italian American flair for home cooks at every level.
Kit explains the personal, familial, and cultural significance of her piccata dish, plus the recipe. I love this sweet, smiley multigenerational photo.
I remember the first time I went to Italy and was absolutely shocked at how different the food was from what I was used to growing up in an Italian American family. Some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around big family dinners, where there was almost always a huge bowl of pasta on the table. I grew up eating pasta dishes with chicken, meatballs, cutlets, or whatever else we were having served right on top. So imagine my surprise when I got to Italy and learned that putting chicken in pasta was practically a crime! It was such an interesting realization that the food I had grown up thinking of as traditionally Italian was actually so distinctly Italian American. I have so much love for both traditions, and this Chicken Piccata Pasta feels like the perfect marriage of the two. Chicken piccata has always been one of those comforting, familiar dishes to me, and combining it with pasta just makes sense in my world. It’s bright and lemony, buttery and comforting, and exactly the kind of meal I love putting in the middle of the table for everyone to share. I think that’s what makes cooking so special. The recipes we grow up with become part of who we are, but we also get to carry those traditions forward and make them our own.
Kit Keenan’s Chicken Piccata Pasta
Ingredients
Kosher salt
8 ounces farfalle pasta
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter
½ cup dry white wine
1 lemon, half sliced paper-thin, half left whole
¼ cup capers, drained
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Steps
Bring a large pot or Dutch oven of water to a boil and season with salt. Add the farfalle and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water, drain and set aside.
In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and the pepper flakes. Add the flour and toss to fully coat the chicken.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear, rotating and flipping as needed, until browned and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
Reduce the heat to low and carefully add the wine. Cook the wine for 2 to 3 minutes to reduce. Add the lemon slices and capers to the skillet. Juice the remaining ½ lemon over the capers and lemon slices.
Add the pasta to the skillet along with the Parmesan. Toss everything together until a silky sauce forms, using the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce, if needed. Serve with more Parmesan, if desired, which, of course, you do.