Picatta is like an instant fancy dinner. One second you’re just sitting there, all normal like, but the instant that first forkful of lemony wine bliss touches your tongue you’re transported to candlelight and tablecloths, even if you’re sitting in front of the TV watching Dancing With The Stars. This version is made with chickpeas which make it superfast, and it’s served over arugula for some green. I know lots of people are accustomed to picatta with pasta, and that is the Italian tradition, but my first picatta was as a vegan and we vegans loved our mashed potatoes, so that is what I suggest serving it with. If you’d like to bulk it up even further, try a grilled or roasted portobello. Nutritional info is listed down below.
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 scant cup thinly sliced shallots
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
2 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
A few dashes fresh black pepper
Generous pinch of dried thyme
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup capers with a little brine
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 cups arugula
Cooking spray
Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium. Saute the shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes, until golden. Add the breadcrumbs and toast them by stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. They should turn a few shades darker.
Add the vegetable broth and wine, salt, black pepper and thyme. Turn up heat and bring to a rolling boil and let the sauce reduce by 1/2, it should take about 7 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and capers to heat through, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon and turn off the heat.
If serving with mashed potatoes, place the arugula in a wide bowl. Place mashed potatoes on top, and ladle picatta over the potatoes. The arugula will wilt and it will be lovely. If you are serving solo, just pour right over the arugula.
Servings per recipe-4
Calories-190
Cal from fat-30
Total fat-3.5g
Saturated fat-0g
Trans fat-0g
Fiber-5g
Protein-9g
Cholesterol- 0mg
Niacin-730mg
Vitamin A-20%
Vitamin C-25%
Calcium-10%
Oh, Isa!! After nearly 4yrs of being vegan, my Hubby has finally made a commitment to do the same:) He adored this recipe!! Even my teenage boys gobbled it up! The whole family is finally meat and dairy free!! Hooray! Between this, and your pumpkin muffins, they have been easy to win over!!
PS: any suggestions on the mashed potatoes? I haven’t tried soy milk in mine before…just EB and some veggie broth…? What do you do?
@ninab – pour in soy milk. Mash. Simples.
Amazing Isa. Just had this. Wife had drunk all the wine in the house so I subbed for a splash of white wine vinegar. Was perfect, filling, grown-up grub, in about 15 minutes. Beautiful.
This was so delicious and incredibly filling. I made it with the mashed potatoes. I bought enough ingredients to feed 6+ and my grocery bill was $15….I can’t wait to buy the book!
OMG this is to die for.Lemony succulent goodness..serve it exactly as she suggests– over arugula and mashed potatoes..heaven……….
Just made this tonight. Absolutely delicious!!!!!!!!!!!
made this today on the first day of snow in omaha… and it’s perfect comfort food!
Just made this in Sunny Florida! We all loved it, so easy and filling.
Two thumbs up! This is one delicious dish! It tastes so light and good that you think you can eat a lot more but it’s surprisingly filling and satisfying. I made this with the caulipots recipe and one serving of each will do the trick!
Is there a substitute for arugula? I am having a difficult time finding it. I’ve checked a natural foods store and walmart (gasp) but no such luck.
This recipe was ridiculously good. Skipped the arugula and just
Put the chickpeas over mashed potatoes. Wow! There
Is no one who wouldn’t like this recipe.
So many flavors — from the lemon, the capers and especially the arugula . Should have doubled the recipe.
This is SUCH a great recipe! I made a lot of alterations based on what I did/did not have in my fridge and it still was delicious. I used quinoa instead of mashed potatoes, kale instead of arugula (sauteed it a little bit first because I knew it wouldn’t wilt as much as arugula), water instead of veg broth, added some tofu in with the chickpeas, and had NO lemon. Despite all of this, it was a tremendous success. My omnivore boyfriend was also a huge fan. Thanks team PPK!
This was delicious! Healthy, filling and super tasty! Served with baby spinach and mashed parsnips… yummers!
Wrote about it here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/chickpea-piccata/
I want to try this recipe but I hate the taste of wine! Can you recommend something else to add which will add flavor and depth but not taste like wine? Thanks!
More veg broth and a splash of balsamic?
I had no wine left when I made this last night so I just added extra broth, a little extra caper brine and lemon juice – tasted just fine!
I have to say, I come to this recipe again, and again, and again. I also have blasted this recipe all over facebook. I’m obsessed. Nom..
I make this at least twice a month. My favorite vegan recipe. EVER Thanks punk chick. xo
🙂 Unpunk emoticon!
What might this delicious dish pair with I suppose a nice Chardonnay as called for in the recipe, but I wondered if there was a red that might go well. Maybe a syrah or even a cabernet Franc?
I have to confess that I HATE capers. I have spent a lot of time avoiding food that contained them, or pleading with restaurants to leave them out. Despite this, I followed this recipe EXACTLY as written…and I was glad. This was really yummy and easy to make. DOUBLE BONUS! I could easily see serving this at a dinner party to omnis with no problem.
The only change I would make is to put the mashed potatoes on the bottom, followed by the arugula, then the picatta. Because my potatoes (Isa’s Fluffy Mashed Potatoes) were finished a bit before the picatta, they were not hot enough to wilt the arugula. But, all three made for a great taste combination.
Thanks so much, Isa!
Wow! This was absolutely amazing. Really really good. My capers were off so I used sun dried tomatoes. My whole family ate their faces off. Prep was simple and quick and so this will definitely taking a place in my dinner rotation. Thanks Isa!
Wendy
Great!! Loved it, my mom loved it, too!! Awesome, awesome, awesome!
This is so amazing. I use sun dried tomatoes instead of capers (Just cause I had them). I’ve made it twice and it’s divine. And so fancy. I makes me feel like a real chef. My kids love it too. Thanks Isa!
What an amazingly tasty, satisfying yet simple dish. Thanks again Isa for providing me with something delicious to make for dinner. And thanks for being so generous with your recipes.
My dear husband was a little skeptical of the capers overtaking the dish so I used them
Wow this was really good! When I read the recipe I wasn’t too sure on it, but when I read the comments I thought it was worth a shot.. Fantastic.
A freaking mazing! This is my second recipe from the website, now I’m going to buy the book! Thank you for making vegan comfort food so easy, without tons of ingredients, and very tasty:)
Really good over wilted greens without starch. Light and fresh. Appetite for Reduction is by far my favorite cookbook. Yum to everything we have made.
unbelievable. thanks so much for another spectacular recipe. I had TWO servings!
Would this make a good salad entree for my Christmas dinner, or is it best as a side dish?
Holy hell this was amazing!! Followed directions exactly and served it with your mashed potatoes and arugula. The flavors were amazing!! This is an excellent meal to serve to non-veg’s.
the sauce is so so good. make w mashed potatoes or have bread on hand to sop it up. will definitely make again.
i just have to say that my husband (who btw NEVER cooks) made this for us for Valentine’s Day dinner and it was DELICIOUS!!! you’re right that the meal feels a little on the fancy side, but is simple enough that a cookng novice can handle it. so awesome.