The Spicy Spatula

Happy Hump Day!!

Hopefully you’re having a good week because I totally am. I am making good progress on edits for Emerald Creek book 2 and tomorrow is my birthday so it’s a good week, and I have a very good vegan sandwich recipe for you today.

I find that most people have a very black and white opinion when it comes to a Reuben sandwich as in they either love it or hate it. Personally I’ve always been a fan of this sandwich and it’s mostly due to two things that are usually vegan. The bread and the sauerkraut.

So I was look around the interwebs as I tend to do in order distract myself from a task I don’t want to do–like book editing–or just to take a quick break and reset my brain, and I typed in “ways to use sauerkraut” to find inspiration for my sudden desire for fermented cabbage. One of the items that popped up was, of course, a Reuben sandwich.

In that moment, I had to have it. I knew that I would find a way. Now for a little context: in the early days of being a vegan the only way to get veganize corned beef or brisket required a ton of seasonings and seitan and a lot of stuff that I honestly wasn’t going to do because…time.

But then I saw a vegan Reuben sandwich recipe that uses mushrooms. Mushrooms, y’all!

We know how mushrooms are my jam and I knew that this was the recipe I would use, but I looked around a few more recipes (tempeh, seitan and even tofu) and decided that, yep, I’m gonna do the mushrooms.

Pssst., if you’re wondering the inspo recipe, get it HERE.

So I did the mushrooms, specifically I used good ol’ crimini because all the oyster mushrooms were damp and whenever I have wood ear mushrooms, I can’t resist pickling them. I have a few dried mushrooms I’ll be testing out soon, but for this I kept it simple because I didn’t know how it would turn out.

Answer? Amazeballs, that’s how it turned out.

Kitchen Tools:

• Cutting board
• Baking sheet
• Mixing bowl

Ingredients:

• Marinated mushrooms 🍄 (the meatier, the better!)
  • Fennel seeds
  • Mustard seeds
  • Vegan Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt & black pepper
  • Garlic
  • Balsamic vinegar
• Tangy sauerkraut 🥗 for that signature Reuben zing
• Velvety vegan Russian dressing 💃
  • vegan mayo
  • Vegan yogurt
  • Pickles
  • Sweet & smoked paprika
  • Vegan Worcestershire
  • Chili sauce
  • Ground cumin
  • Garlic granules
• Hearty rye bread 🍞 to hold it all together (or your favorite bread)

Putting the Fun in Funghi 🍄😄 (I couldn’t help myself!)

Instructions

• Marinate your ‘shrooms first so they have plenty of time to soak up the flavor. Toss with the ingredients in a mixing bowl and then lay them out on your baking sheet with right along with anything left over in the bowl.
• Make your vegan Russian dressing by whisking all the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, and set aside or refrigerate.

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. You can choose to saute/fry the mushrooms but I was aiming for an oil free vegan recipe so I baked them. You could probably use the air fryer but given it’s limited space, it might be even more time-consuming.
• Bake the ‘shrooms for about 15 minutes and then toss. Cook for another 10 minutes or until you have mushrooms that are not soggy or moist but also not super dry.
• Warm up the bread. I really wanted to use rye bread here but alas, I could not find any. 😦

• Sandwich assembly: Slather one slice of bread with vegan Russian dressing, then pile on the sauerkraut and sautéed mushrooms. 🥪Top it off with the other slice of bread and grill the sandwich on both sides (optional) until it’s crispy, golden, and screaming “eat me!” 😋

And wash it down–of course–with an ice cold beer or tea or sparkling water with cucumber! The choice is yours.

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