The Vegan Chicken Franchese

Julia Moskin's chicken franchese recipe in last week's New York Time's Food section intrigued me. I wanted to try the vegan version not hers - which could be vegan patties or cauliflower - but mine.

Since I couldn't use chicken stock,I subbed in veggie instead. I used three of HerbOx's vegetable bouillon cubes.

I microwaved it with two cups of water as directed. Then it was onto the base of the franchese sauce. , dry white wine, the juice of one whole lemon and six tablespoons of butter.

Of course I used Miyoko's vegan butter that I ordered from Vegan Essentials. The wine was Piot Grigio from DaVinci. These are cooked together in a medium saucepan  until the liquid becomes syrupy.

It didn't. It just became bubbly and soupy even though I cooked it for the required four minutes over a medium flame. I added the broth which was guaranteed to also thicken it. Nope.

Then it was time to cook the chicken. I used Morningstar's chicken strips I couldn;t get Gardein's chicken cutlets).

They have to be steamed in two tablespoons of water.I used half a cup.

They would up being burned and sticking to the frying pan ( the burned bits were more delicious, especially with a sprinkling of sea salt.) I served it with angel hair pasta,  a variation of Ms. Moskin's recommendation of pasta. I used Stop and Shop's angel hair.

I also added green beans  however the finished product looked like something vaguely Asian.

It either looks like a hearty Rmen soup or a vegan version of pho, the Vietnamese eefsoup.

What I learned was after research, the vegan chicken franchese is a lot different than the original recipe.

One, I should have used tofu filets,

Two. I should have used cornstarch as a sauce thickener.

Oh well, next time I'll know better.

However the greater lesson is  never be afraid to try.The recipe may turn out a disaster but you can learn from it as I did. Maybe that's the best thing about cooking this meal.