Grain and Parsley Crusted “Chicken” with Mustard Maple Pan Sauce and Broccoli Rabe

I love Gardein. A lot. So much so in fact, I burned 20 minutes on epicurious looking for the perfect recipe to adapt for it, making me late for daycare pick-up and it was totally worth it!

This is everything I love all together on one plate. Sweet, spicy, crunchy and green with enough richness and weight to elicit audible yummy-in-my-tummy noises. After a “Thursday Night” class, I was starving and this was relatively quick (I completed prep before I left for class) to make when I got home. Needless to say, it lasted a whole four minutes on my plate with no sauce to spare. I wouldn’t say it’s 100% “healthy” but nothing this good ever is…..

Grain and Parsley Crusted Chick’n with Mustard Maple Pan Sauce and Broccoli Rabe

adapted from Bon Appétit, October 2009

Makes 2 servings (doubles perfectly for 4)

Prep Time: 30 minutes / Active Time, 30 minutes

For the Crust:

1 slice of whole grain bread with crusts, diced to 1″ cubes

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1 tbsp flour (any kind will do – I’ve used organic white)

freshly cracked pepper and sea salt to taste

For the Gardein™

4 lightly seasoned Gardein Chick’n filets, with original marinade removed and patted dry

2 tbsp of dijon mustard

1 tbsp of Eath Balance Buttery Sticks

enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the saute pan

For the Broccoli Rabe

1 tsp Better than Bouillon vegetable stock concentrate

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 large bunch of broccoli rabe, washed and trimmed

For the Mustard Maple Pan Sauce

1/2 cup Broccoli Rabe Cooking liquid, reserved

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp Earth Balance Buttery Stick

1 good splash of White Wine

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp grainy mustard

freshly cracked pepper and sea salt to taste

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients for the crust in a food processor (mini works well here) and pulse until a fine crumb forms. Dump mixture out onto small plate and set aside.

2. Pre-heat oven to 200℉.

3. In a pot large enough to hold all the broccoli rabe, fill with water to 2/3 mark and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, add the tsp of vegetable stock concentrate, smashed garlic cloves, broccoli rabe and cook until just tender, 4-5 minutes. Once tender, strain rabe (reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid for sauce) and place in a cold water to stop cooking. Place cooled rabe on tea towels to drain and dry.

4. In a non-stick saute pan over med-high heat, add 1 tbsp Earth Balance and enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Don’t skip on the oil, you’ll never achieve a good crunch in the coasting without it.

5. While oil in saute pan heats, evenly coat Gardein™ filets with dijon mustard and press in crust mixture until well-coated with no bare patches visible.

6. Once saute pan has reached temperature (oil and Earth Balance mixture is lightly bubbling) gently place Gardein in pan. Cook each side for about 3 minutes or until golden and crispy. Once both side are done, place the Gardein on a paper towel-lined oven-proof dish and place in the oven to keep warm while you make the pan sauce.

7. Rinse or wipe out saute pan from Gardein , add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of Earth Balance over medium heat. Once at temperature (same as Gardein above) add minced garlic and saute until golden. Add splash of white wine and saute for about 1 minute until the alcohol burns off.  Whisk in mustards, maple syrup and thin out with reserved rabe cooking liquid until desire consistency is achieved. Salt and pepper to taste. Add rabe and saute in sauce until warmed through.

8. Divide rabe and sauce evenly between plates, top with Gardein filets and enjoy!