Vegan/Gluten-Free Pasta Piccata with Broccoli and Mushrooms Recipe

This is my first time making up a recipe.  I wanted to make sure it was delicious before I posted it and since my husband and I both loved it, I decided it was time to share.  Before I cleaned up my diet, I absolutely LOVED creamy sauces with pasta or chicken.  Naturally, Chicken Piccata was one of my favorite meals.  Once I gave up dairy, I thought I'd have to give up the creamy sauces, but then I discovered culinary coconut milk!  This is a great substitution for heavy cream.  

Recently, I decided to try to make Pasta Piccata using alternative vegan ingredients to replace the traditional ingredients for Chicken Piccata to make the sauce.  I also made it a complete meal by adding broccoli and mushrooms.  I got all the ingredients at Native Sun, but you could find them at just about any health food store.  This meal is also free of oil.  Below is the recipe.  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

16 oz spiral (or whatever shape you want) Gluten-Free Organic Brown Rice Pasta

1 large stalk of organic broccoli

8 oz cremini mushrooms (or whatever mushrooms you want)

1 TBS + 2 cups vegetable broth

2 cloves minced garlic

3.5 oz (1 package) organic capers

6 TBS lemon juice

3 dashes cayenne pepper (optional)

2/3 cup culinary coconut milk (I used So Delicious brand)

1/2 TBS arrowroot starch (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain and set aside. 

2. While pasta is cooking, preheat the oven to 350.  Chop the broccoli into bite sized pieces and bake for about 25 minutes or until browned and crispy.

3. Slice the mushrooms thinly.

4. In the same pot you cooked the pasta in, prepare the sauce. Heat 1 TBS vegetable broth over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and let simmer for 3 minutes.

5. Add the mushrooms and cook for 6 minutes.

6. Add 2 cups vegetable broth, capers, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and culinary coconut milk.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. 

7. This step is optional because it depends on how thin or thick you like your sauce.  The sauce will be very thin at this point so if that's how you like it, you can skip this step.  If you want a thicker sauce, remove 1 cup of the broth and slowly stir in 1/2 TBS arrowroot starch until well blended.  Pour the mixture back into the sauce and stir until thickened.

8. Stir in the baked broccoli and salt and pepper to taste.

9. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately!