Vegan Mushroom Piccata with Artichokes
1 - Breakfast, 5 - FarmOne - Mushrooms, Main
Ingredients
200 g king oyster mushrooms, sliced lengthways
50 ml plant milk
3 tbsp flour gluten-free is fine
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided use; more as required
2 tbsp vegan butter divided use; more as required
1 lemon juiced
80 ml white wine or dry sherry
80 ml vegetable stock/broth
2 tbsp capers drained
4 marinated artichoke hearts halved or quartered
3 tbsp chopped parsley
Cooked capellini/angel hair pasta to stir in and serve
Description
Serve the mushroom and artichoke piccata with green vegetables or a plain green salad.
Mushroom and artichoke piccata is a delicious vegan take on the classic Italian chicken dish, chicken piccata. With plenty of lemon, white wine, extra virgin olive oil and best vegan butter, this is a rather decadent dish to serve over delicate capellini pasta. And it takes less than 30 minutes from start to demolish.
What does piccata mean?
Merriam-Webster defines piccata to mean “thin slices of meat (veal) that have been dredged in flour, sautéed, and served in a lemon and butter sauce”. Piccata describes the method. The origins are Italian but the piccata-style is popular in the US, where chicken is often used instead of veal. Etymologically piccata is the feminine of piccato, past participle of piccare to lard (meat); probably from French piquer, literally, to prick (or possibly meaning sharp, “piquant”).
Directions
Brush the sliced mushrooms with the milk. Or you could spray each with oil spray. The idea is to give a light wet layer so that the flour adheres.
Place the sliced mushrooms in a food bag or bowl and toss around with the flour. Tap off excess flour and reserve.
Heat half of the oil and butter in a skillet. Working in batches, add enough sliced mushrooms to comfortably fit your pan. Sauté the mushrooms until well-cooked and golden. Place cooked mushrooms to the side and keep them lightly covered. You could also keep them in a warm oven if you have more than two batches to cook.
When all of the mushrooms are cooked, remove them from the pan (as above) and add in the extra flour from the coating process and cook for one minute, stirring. Add the lemon juice, wine or dry sherry, and the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by about one-third, or until you have a thin sauce that coats the back of a wooden spoon. Taste for seasoning and adjust - add pepper, salt and even a little sugar if you wish. It depends on your taste.
You may be cooking your pasta now, so drain when the sauce is ready, reserving a ladle of the pasta water.
Add the capers, artichoke hearts and most of the parsley to the pan and stir. Now add the mushrooms and gently turn in the sauce to coat. At this point you can also add the hot pasta and turn with tongs to coat as well. Or, you can plate up the pasta individually and top with the mushroom piccata. Either way sprinkle over the remaining parsley and serve hot.
Notes
King oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii). These are creamy-white, fat, columnar mushrooms with a delicious taste when fried. They grow in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa but are available in large supermarkets in many other areas, and at green grocers, too. I tend to find them packaged up as “exotic mushrooms” with the likes of shiitake and maitake. I use these in the recipe too, but mainly the king oyster. If these aren’t easily found, please just use large portobello or field mushrooms.
You can make this by frying the mushrooms in the oil-butter without first coating in flour. If doing this cook them and put aside while you make the sauce. Do this by adding the remaining fat, then adding the flour and cooking it for two minutes, stirring most of the time with a wooden spoon. Then carry on as directed.
Capellini (angel hair) is the usual and extremely good with this. But something like linguine or even tagliatelle would be fine, too. Or mashed potatoes!
Nutrition
Calories 286 kcal
Saturated Fat 3g
Sodium 579mg
Potassium 348mg
Carbohydrates 17g
Fiber 4g
Protein 4g
Calcium 41mg
Iron 2mg