Picatta in a Flash

I got tired of being asked if I live under a rock, just because I hadn’t yet tried any Gardein products. So, I decided to sample some this week. I’ve been in the mood for something picatta. The Gardein chick’n scallopini seemed like a natural choice. Since I had purple and yellow fingerling potatoes, fresh asparagus, and Meyer lemons in the house, the menu practically wrote itself. It was so easy to make, the meal practically cooked itself too!

Once I got the potatoes and asparagus roasting, I quickly sautéed the scallopini for a few minutes. I then removed them from the pan while, I made a lightening quick picatta sauce with shallots, capers, white wine, Meyer lemon juice, and parsley. I swirled in a little Earth Balance to finish the sauce, then plated and served.

It was a wonderful meal. The tender asparagus and luscious potatoes were out of this world. Perfectly roasted and flavorful, they picked up enough of the picatta sauce to make their naturally delicious flavors sparkle. I don't usually use commercial meat alternatives, but I was impressed with the Gardein product. The texture is great, and the flavor light enough to allow the flavorful picatta sauce to shine through.

Making the sauce with Meyer lemons really elevated the sauce to “oh, wow!” status. I even sautéed some lemon slices to use as a garnish and we ended up eating them too, the lemon was that sweet. All in all, a delicious, an easy and elegant meal to enjoy on a snowy weekend in January.