A CHILDHOOD FAVORITE VEGAN-IZED

This last weekend on the CBC Radio One program "North by Northwest" they were asking for readers'  stories and experiences looking for lost childhood favorite recipes or foods.  That got me thinking about my own childhood favorites.  Of course, like most of us, I was not raised vegan, so some of my old favorites were "meaty".  My late mother, Eve Urbina, was a great cook, but not a baker, so not many homemade desserts came to mind (we mostly had yogurt and fruit for dessert).  But one of my real favorite from my Mom's repertoire  was chicken sauteed in olive oil with white wine and rosemary, which resulted in a sticky, flavorful "goo" at the bottom of the pan, which she would mix with steamed long-grain rice to serve with the chicken.

So, I attempted a vegan version for our Saturday night dinner, using some Gardein-made meatless "chicken breasts" we can buy frozen in our local Great Canadian Superstore.  The most difficult part is getting the "goo" at the bottom of the pan.  I tried a trick from my Italian cookbook "Nonna's Italian Kitchen", agar-jelled broth, but made with Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan Broth Paste instead of my homemade broth from the book. However, despite my jelled broth addition and cooking it down, the residue in the pan refused to get as “sticky-gooey” as the original.  That’s probably because there was much more fat in my childhood version.  But no worries— the resulting sauce was absolutely delish!

Printable Recipe

MY MOM’S "CHIK'N" WITH ROSEMARY AND WHITE WINE, VEGANIZED 
Servings: 4

This dish is extremely quick and easy to make, but one of my all-time favorites for flavor. I was trying to more-or-less replicate the chicken with white wine dish that my mother often made when I was a child growing up in a California winery. She would mix steamed long-grain rice in the pan in which the chicken and herbs had been cooked and scrape up the delicious, sticky  residue to mix with the rice. You could do the same with this dish, if you like.
UPDATE: This reviewer loved the dish and he made it with my "Breast of Tofu" (recipe in most of my books and online here), known as "Crispy Marinated Tofu" in "World Vegan Feast", instead of the chicken sub. You could also use homemade seitan "cutlets". We can no longer get the Gardein or PC Blue Menu vegan products (made by Gardein) in Canada, so I will be using my "Breast of Tofu", or my homemade cutlets (see Light Seitan Cutlets" recipe, p.5 in "World Vegan Feast" from now on.

8 pieces Gardein Turk’y Cutlets (or Chick’n Scallopini), or Gardein Chick’n Filets in the US; or equivalent in poultry sub available in your area (See Update above.)

1/4 cup   Seasoned Flour (see below)      

1 Tbs   extra-virgin olive oil   

3 cups  sliced mushrooms, white, cremini, or chanterelle     

4 cloves   garlic, minced         

1 cup   jelled "chicken-style" vegetarian broth (see below)   

3/4 cup   white wine, such as a Riesling (can be non-alcoholic) or a dry white wine with a little medium sherry mixed in        

2   sprigs fresh rosemary, stripped off the stalk and chopped           

freshly-ground black pepper to taste 

Dredge whatever chicken sub pieces in Seasoned Flour (see below). Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, arrange coated pieces in the pan. Cook until one side is golden, then turn them over and cook until the other side is golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and sprinkle with a little salt. Stir-fry them over high heat, adding a tiny bit of water if they seem to be sticking (the mushrooms will exude a little liquid), until they start to wilt. Add the browned pieces back to the pan, along with the wine, jelled broth (see below) and rosemary. Cook over high heat, stirring gently now and then, until it cooks down and forms a thick sauce. Quickly remove from heat and grind pepper over the dish. Serve immediately over steamed rice or mashed potatoes (or mix the rice with any sauce left in the pan and serve the dish over that.)

 Nutrition Facts

Nutrition (per serving): 251.4 calories; 23% calories from fat; 6.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 794.0mg sodium; 842.7mg potassium; 14.9g carbohydrates; 2.6g fiber; 2.4g sugar; 12.3g net carbs; 27.3g protein; 5.1 points.

 Cooking Tips

JELLED BROTH:  Adding agar to vegan broth gives it even more body, enabling it to coat foods the way melted fat does. Mix 1 3/4 cups hot water in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon No-Chicken Vegan broth paste.  Add 3/4 tsp. agar powder with 1/4 cup cold water and stir into the pot.  Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Keep any leftovers refrigerated in a tightly-covered container. The jelled broth will melt when heated.

BRYANNA’S SEASONED FLOUR

Keep some of this in a tightly-covered container in the refrigerator-- you'll find many uses for it.

Mix together 2 cups whole wheat, or other wholegrain, flour, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes, 1 tsp. salt, and, optional, 1 tsp. onion powder and freshly-ground black pepper to taste.

Enjoy!