The Makeshift Cook

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.