Serves 4

Total time: 45 minutes || Active time: 45 minutes

Opening up my own tattered copy of Veganomicon on a Saturday night to make something special after a really rough day, I of course turn straight to the Seitan Piccata. I don’t need to read the recipe, it’s as much a natural function to me as walking and breathing. But I wanted to see exactly how it was written. Because the thing is, when I created it for Veganomicon I…well, I wasn’t as experienced at writing recipes as I am now.

That is to say: sometimes I look at the directions in older recipes and think “Holy hell, no way I’m doing all that!” As the years go on, I get, well not lazier, but let’s just say more efficient. Like any craft, recipe writing can take years to master. And so I present you with a revised Piccata. I’ve streamlined the directions a little, as well as the ingredients list, and this version is, I think, a little bit easier to accomplish on a weeknight. The changes I made were pretty basic: onions instead of shallots (since I always have them), upped the garlic (because, duh, more garlic always), upped the wine and added a little nooch for thickening. I also top with whatever fresh herbs I have on hand, and this time it was chives.

And so here’s an updated version with all of the lemony capery goodness intact! I hope that you’ll love it as much as (if not more than) the original.

Notes

~ I love to use Homemade Seitan in this recipe. And you can streamline the seitan recipe, too. Leave out the garlic since there’s plenty of garlic in the piccata. And why not go ahead and leave out the lemon juice, too. It results in a firmer seitan that works perfectly here.~ To get everything done in a decent amount of time, follow this schedule: 1) Make the seitan a day ahead, giving it plenty of time to cool. 2) Start the mashed potatoes before everything else. 3) Saute or steam greens in the last 10 minutes of your piccata reducing. By that point, your potatoes should be done and the stovetop should be at least a little less hectic. ~ For the broth in the piccata sauce, you can totally use a cup of leftover broth from the simmered seitan. Add one cup of water to get the two cups you need, since the seitan broth will be very strong.

Ingredients



1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups vegetable broth

1 pinch dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1/4 cup capers, with brine

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakesTo garnish:

Chopped fresh chives or parsley 1 lb seitan, sliced into 1/4 inch thick strips1/3 cup all-purpose flourOlive oil1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced6 cloves garlic, minced1/2 cup dry white wine2 cups vegetable broth1 pinch dried thyme1/2 teaspoon saltFresh ground black pepper1/4 cup capers, with brine2 tablespoons lemon juice2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakesTo garnish:Chopped fresh chives or parsley To serve:

Mashed potatoes (I used Caulipots from Appetite for Reduction)

Sauteed greens (I used red chard)

Directions