Cilantro Lime Chicken, er Ficken

The SO has dubbed Quorn naked cutlets "ficken" (ie, fake chicken). And he actually requested it for dinner earlier this week. He really liked the lemon herb ficken, but I've had the words "cilantro lime" in my head for a while now and decided to try something new.

So I hit up the ol' Google, and found a few recipes that I felt were on the right track, but nothing I felt was complete, so I came up with my own marinade and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

Cilantro Lime Ficken (serves 2)
1 tablespoon oil (I used canola)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce (I used a light tamari)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (be sure to include some stems; there's a lot of flavor in a stem)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
a dash of finely ground pepper

I mixed all the ingredients and set two partially-thawed Naked Chik'n Cutlets in the dish, covered them in the marinade, and let them sit for about 20 minutes (the lime juice starts to shrivel the Quorn a bit). Then I cooked them for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees (cooking time depends on how frozen the cutlets are--check the directions on the box).

The smell was wonderful, but I'm a huge fan of both cilantro and lime, so that wasn't a surprise. When the ficken was done, I placed a cutlet on a bed of Israeli couscous and drizzled some of the marinade over the top for a gravy and topped it with some fresh cilantro for even more flavor.

The ficken was delicious. A new favorite. The ginger came through quite a bit, but didn't overpower the lime and cilantro taste (though it could have if I'd used more, I bet). It was tangy and sweet and zippy all at once. I served it with some sweet potato hashbrowns and some lightly steamed broccolini topped with a pinch of fleur de sel (all it needs, really). As I learned with the sweet potato enchiladas, a citrus taste pairs well with my little orange tuber friends. The broccolini? Well, I just felt like the plate needed a little more iron and calcium. It's a nice alternative for this broccoli-hater as its taste is much more delicate and the stalks are even palatable to me.

The meal was finished off with a few jumbo medjool dates I picked up at a Mediterranean grocery over on Thompson Lane. It was a very good, albeit "international" meal.