recipes

Vegan “Chicken” Francese with Linguine

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Vegan “Chicken” Francese

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, French, Italian, vegan
Keyword: vegan
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
This Chicken Francese is neither chicken (because it's vegan) nor French (because Chicken Francese is a dish invested in an Italian restaurant in New York) but it is 100% delicious. The tart, lemony sauce and fried 'chicken' cutlets are the perfect balance of texture and flavor. Enjoy this dish that is none of the things it claims to be, but still perfect.
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Ingredients

Vegan Fried "Chicken" Cutlets

  • 1 can chickpeas A 400g can yields appx 250g beans after the liquid has been drained.
  • 1 tbls olive oil
  • 1/3 cup vegetable broth (80ml)
  • 2 tbls soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (60g)
  • 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs (30g) Any breadcrumbs you have on hand will work fine
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning If you don't have any premade available, you can make your own with 2 teaspoons ground dried sage. 1 ½ teaspoons ground dried thyme, 1 teaspoon ground dried marjoram, ¾ teaspoon ground dried rosemary. ½ teaspoon black pepper, and a good pinch of nutmeg.
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 cup flour (120g)
  • 2 tbls panko bread crumbs Any breadcrumbs you have on hand will work fine
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbls plant based milk I used Ripple brand pea milk which is richer and creamier than most plant based options
  • 1/2 cup Just Egg If you don't have Just Egg available in your area, you can replace with more plant based milk
  • 2 cups vegetable oil

Lemon Sauce

  • 4 tbls plant based butter (60g)
  • 4-6 cloves garlic very finely sliced
  • 3/4 cup vegetable broth (180ml)
  • 3/4 cup dry white sherry (180ml) Or feel free to sub any dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (60ml)
  • 1/4 cup parsley (roughly 10g) finely chopped
  • 1 lemon sliced

Pasta, to serve

  • 8 oz linguine (225g)

Instructions

Make the fried "chicken" cutlets

  • Add the drained chickpeas to a bowl and mash them with a fork or potato masher until fully crushed. They will leave little "skins" which is fine, just make sure not to leave any full beans intact.
  • Add the olive oil, vegetable broth, soy sauce, wheat gluten, 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper to the chickpeas. Stir to combine, then use your hands to kneed into a dough. This should take about 2-3 minutes and it will form a firm dough that holds together.
  • Divide the dough into 8 roughly equal balls and flatten and elongate until you have a flat patty a bit bigger than your palm. You're going for a chicken cutlet/flattened chicken breast replacement here, if that helps with shaping. They should be about 1/2 inch thick.
  • Set the cutlets aside and in one bowl, mix the flour, remaining panko breadcrumbs, poultry seasoning, and salt. In another bowl, mix together the Just Egg (if using) and plant based milk. Put the 2 cup of vegetable oil in a large fry pan on medium-high heat. You'll want to let it heat up for a few minutes – and will know its ready when the end of a wooden spoon or chopstick inserted in the oil creates small bubbles that float to the top. No bubbles, let the heat increase a bit. Loads of large and irregular bubbles, decrease the heat a bit.
  • Once the oil is hot, take your cutlets and dip them one by one, first in the flour mixture, patting down to fully coat; then in the Just Egg/plant milk mixture, again covering the entire surface on both sides; then once again in the flour mixture so the outside is dry. I find it helpful to use one hand for moving the cutlet from the flour to the wet mixture then back again, and the other hand for coating with flour/grabbing the next cutlet. Or you can just rinse you hands between coatings. Put the coated cutlet immediately in the hot oil, where it should begin to bubble and fry immediately. If it doesn't start bubbling, your oil isn't hot enough which will result in a soggy outcome and likely your 'chicken' will stick to the bottom of the pan. Let the pan heat up before adding the next one.
  • Cook the cutlets a few at a time, not crowding the pan, for 2-3 minutes per side or until a very dark golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on a drying rack with a cutting board or paper towel underneath to catch the oil for easier clean up. Once they have all cooked, set them aside while you prepare the lemon sauce and pasta.

Make the Lemon Sauce and Pasta

  • Put a large pot of salted water on high heat to come to a boil – this will be for your pasta.
  • While the pasta water is heating up, in a clean fry pan over medium heat, add your vegan butter. Once it's fully melted, add the sliced garlic and cook until they are aromatic and just starting to brown at the edges.
  • Add the vegetable stock, sherry or white wine, and lemon juice to the butter and garlic, and let reduce by half to two-thirds over medium heat, stirring occasionally so the garlic doesn't burn. This should take about 10 minutes.
  • While the sauce is cooking, and once the pasta water comes to a boil, add the linguine and cook until not-quite al dente (about 2-3 minutes less than the lowest end of the cooking time instructions on the package). Drain the pasta, and add to the sauce while it is still reducing. The pasta will finish cooking in the lemon sauce as it cooks down, and will help thicken the sauce slightly.
  • Add the parsley and sliced whole lemon to the pasta and sauce, and toss to ensure the parsley is fully distributed.
  • Finally add the fried "chicken" cutlets back on top of the pasta and sauce. Don't cover them in the sauce or flip them, or they will lose the crunch, fried texture, but you do want them to warm up and soak up a bit of the sauce from the bottom. Place remaining lemon slices on top of each cutlet.
  • Serve the dish with 1-2 cutlets, about 2oz of pasta per person, and a spoonful of the sauce from the pan on top. Enjoy!

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