Italian-Influenced Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Style "Chicken Piccata"

Chicken Piccata is a traditional Italian dish consisting of chicken cutlets lightly battered and served with a butter based, lemon-garlic sauce. My daughter loved this as a child, and now makes a vegetarian spin-off using Quorn or other imitation chicken cutlets. Once dredged in egg and flour and fried to a nice golden brown, you won't even notice that the cutlets aren't real meat! Using Earth Balance instead of butter cuts down on cholesterol - and you can even make the meal vegan by skipping the egg part of the dredge!

Quorn "Piccata" with Lemon Garlic Sauce Over Linguine with Spinach

2 unbreaded imitation chicken cutlets, defrosted (Quorn Naked Cutlets taste better, but Gardein Scallopini work well too and are vegan)

1/2 box whole grain linguine

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup Imagine No-Chicken broth

1/2 bag baby spinach

Juice of 1-2 lemons (depending how tangy you like your sauce)

2 large cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs. Earth Balance spread

1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil + a little more for drizzling

About 2 tsp. Earth Balance + 2 tsp. flour (smash them together, this will act as a thickening agent)

1 tsp. sugar

1 tbs. capers (optional - they add a nice salty, tangy flavor but they are not for everyone)

1 egg, beaten

About 1/2 cup flour mixed with a sprinkle of salt and pepper

Prepare pasta according to box directions. When it's finished cooking, drain and return to the pot. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat 1 tbs. Earth Balance over a medium-low flame and saute garlic plus a sprinkle of salt for 1-2 minutes until it begins to soften but not brown. Add white wine, broth, and capers and let simmer on low heat for about a minute. Add the sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the Earth Balance/flour mixture and stir to combine. Cover and keep heat on low while you cook the "chicken" cutlets.

In a large, deep pan or saucier, heat 1 tbs. Earth Balance + 1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil. Dip each defrosted cutlet in a wash of beaten egg, then in a layer of the seasoned flour mixture (I like to spread the flour on a small plate so it's easy to get the cutlet covered). If you want a vegan version, you can skip the breading part altogether or just get the cutlets a little wet and cover them in the seasoned flour. Shake off any excess flour and fry the cutlets until nicely browned on each side. Remove them from the pan, lower the heat, and pour in the olive oil-coated pasta. Throw in the spinach and stir until it wilts - about 2-3 minutes. Add the sauce, reserving a little bit for the cutlets, and toss to coat. Pour the remaining sauce over the cutlets and serve them over the pasta.