There are lots of vegetarian and vegan Reuben recipes floating around out there, and most of them use tempeh. I am all for it because I totally dig tempeh, but sometimes you don't have any at home and you want a big sloppy sandwich anyway. A Reuben-esque sandwich, even, despite the fact that you're missing some of the key ingredients.
Enter the Veganomicon Chickpea Cutlet, which I have referred to numerous times and even bastardized once with kidney beans. Every time I make these, I intentionally make enough dough to keep a wad in the fridge for later frying. So I fried up some cutlets with my leftover dough.
Also, I had no sauerkraut, but I did have a hunk of cabbage, so I sauteed the cabbage with some thinly sliced onions and a splash of cider vinegar until it was soft and starting to brown and caramelize.
Here's what you'll need if you want to replicate this sandwich, which was eaten so quickly I couldn't get a picture of it:
Dark rye bread or other delicious bread of your choice
A chickpea cutlet the size of your bread (google the recipe, which has been passed around the interwebs many a time)
Swiss cheese (or not)
Sauteed cabbage or sauerkraut
Thinly sliced green peppers, which I love on this kind of sandwich
Prepared Russian dressing or your own concoction of vegan mayo, ketchup, pickle relish, and horseradish, all mixed up together
Grill the bread in a little olive oil or butteresque fatty fat. Layer the cheese and cutlets on one piece of bread and cook over low heat until melted. Remove to a plate and pile on the rest of the ingredients. Eat with a knife, fork, and french fries.
My, oh my. It has been awhile, hasn't it? I do have a very good reason for not posting: I haven't really been cooking. My CSA kicked into high gear and basically determined what I would eat each day. There have been lots of green smoothies, roasted veggies, various sauteed greens with pasta, refrigerator pickles...if it's been in season, I have eaten it.
Here are some examples:
Cauliflower, red onions, potatoes, fennel, and fabulous little turnips, drizzled with olive oil and roasted at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. The fennel could have used more time in the oven, but everything else was excellent. Served with red quinoa and capra sarda cheese.
Cold roasted beets (roasted at the same time as the other veggies, but wrapped in foil and for longer) with arugula, walnuts, a local bleu cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette; leftover red quinoa with sauteed summer squash, onion tops, and steamed cauliflower. Plus some bread.
My take on the perpetual pickle. There's some leftover kohlrabi in there and it was excellent pickled.
We're entering peak tomato season now and I am flirting with the idea of ordering an extra 20 pound box to do some freezing or MAYBE canning. Freezing seems way less intimidating to me. I'll keep you posted.
