Buttery Sage-Infused Biscuits w/ Pecan-Crusted Fried Chicken and Maple Butternut Squash Puree (plant-based)

Directions

1. Biscuits: Place butter in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, pre-heat oven to 425° F, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Stir together oat milk, lemon juice, and set aside to curdle.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, kosher salt, baking soda, and pulse a few times until incorporated.
4. Remove butter from freezer and cut it into cubes roughly 1 inch in size. Sprinkle half the cubes on top of the dry ingredients and pulse a few times. Then add in the rest of the butter—along with the sage—and pulse until pea-sized pieces of butter remain.
5. Note: plz, whatever you do, do not over-process here. Okay, thanks!
6. Transfer flour mixture to a large work bowl. Slowly pour in lemon/oat milk while using a fork to incorporate. Toss until a loose dough is formed.
7. Turn your dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead a few times until it reaches a more cohesive consistency, then pat it into a thick square.
8. Cut the square into 4 even pieces and stack them on top of each other. Dust counter with more flour and roll your dough into a circle about 1 inch thick.
9. Cut 3 inch rings out of your dough using a cookie cutter and place on prepped cookie sheet. Gently re-stack, knead, and roll excess dough until it’s all used.
10. Note: re-shaped dough will form tougher biscuits. But hey, tougher biscuits are better than no biscuits!
11. Transfer biscuits to freezer for 20 minutes so the fat can firm up.
12. Brush some melted butter on top, sprinkle with a touch of oats or flaky salt, drop oven temperature to 400° F, and bake for 22-27 minutes or until cooked through and lightly golden on top.
13. Chicken: Whisk together flour, salt, paprika, onion, garlic, and cayenne in a cake pan. Dredge chicken in dry mixture, rub to coat, wipe off excess, and transfer to a cooling rack. Add chopped pecans to remaining flour.
14. In another cake pan, whisk together oat milk, lemon juice, and VeganEgg until smooth.
15. Place chicken in oat milk mixture, flip to coat, wipe off excess, then add to dry mixture. Massage flour into chicken and transfer to cooling rack. Repeat for remaining pieces then let them rest for 20 minutes.
16. Place oil in a large dutch oven over high-heat and bring temperature to 350° F. 
17. After 20 minutes, coat chicken pieces in another layer of liquid and flour mixture. #thicc
18. Once oil reaches temperature, carefully drop 3 pieces into the oil and cook until golden brown—about 4 1/2 minutes—flipping once or twice after it floats to the top.
19. Transfer cooked chicken to cooling rack and repeat for second batch.
20. Butternut Puree: Boost oven temperature to 450° F. On a parchment-lined cookie sheet, toss together diced squash, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, salt, and ginger. Roast until squash is super tender and lightly burnt; 20-25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.
21. In a food-processor or personal-sized blender cup, blitz maple syrup, 200 grams (1 ⅓ cups) of cooked butternut, and remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until a velvety paste is formed.
22. Serving: Gently pull apart biscuits into halves, then line the bottoms with a few layers of cucumber slices. Top with chicken, spread on the butternut puree, cap with remaining biscuit, and brush on a little extra butter. DIG IN!