Where Have "REUBEN" All My Life!

Where Have "REUBEN" All My Life!

I'm SO excited to finally be sharing one of my recipes with you! As a carnivore, one of my favorite sandwiches to eat was a reuben (on white or wheat bread; I HATE rye). As a vegan, I've been lucky enough to find a few spots in L.A. that have killer reubens on the menu. I don't really eat out a lot, but find myself craving reubens often. I've seen a few recipes for them that looked decent, but just never got around to making one. Well....today, that changed! I did a huge shop at Sprouts yesterday, and got everything I needed to make my attempt on the reuben sandwich. I researched many recipes and have come up with my version and I must say, it's EXACTLY what I've been looking for! Vegan or not, you can't deny the yumminess of this bad boy! Drop your misconceptions of what vegan food tastes like, and give it a try. Even though it's not the healthiest thing you could eat, it's WAY better for you than the grease, dairy and meat filled sandwich you are used to eating. You don't need "cheat days" when you follow a plant-based, cruelty-free lifestyle. You can eat this sammy guilt-free! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

THE REUBEN, "HOLLY STYLE"
(Makes 2 monster or 3 big sandwiches)

The Marinade:
*1 can of beets (NOT pickled)
*1/2 C white, distilled, vinegar
*1 TBS vegan sugar
*1 TBS organic yellow mustard
*1 tsp dried, or fresh dill
*1 tsp granulated garlic
*1/2 tsp ground allspice
*1 tsp (or more to taste) of freshly ground black pepper
*1 bay leaf

The Filling:
*1 package of plain tempeh (I used West End 5-grain)
*I package of organic sauerkraut (I haven't been ambitious enough to make my own yet, but I'm workin' on it)
*Daiya Mozzerella
*4-6 slices of Sourdough bread
*1 1/2 TBS vegan butter (I use Earth Balance-the olive oil kind)
*Thousand Island Dressing/Sauce (recipe follows)
*1 TBS olive oil, for frying tempeh

Appliances Needed:
*Saute pan
*Panini press (or you can use a pan, and place a smaller pan on top to "press" the sandwich)

PREP:
~Place all the ingredients for the marinade into a medium size container and stir together until mustard and sugar are well incorporated.
~Slice tempeh. I cut the block in half, then each half into slices. You can cut it differently if you want.
~Place tempeh slices into the marinade, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

TO MAKE THE SAMMY:
~Remove tempeh from marinade, and shake off any excess liquid.
~Heat the TBS olive oil in the saute pan over medium heat.
~Place tempeh slices in pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until a bit browned

~While the tempeh is cooking, preheat panini press
~Butter the outsides of the sourdough and get all sandwich components ready to go
~Once tempeh is ready and panini press is heated, you are good to go to construct the sammy!
~I did mine in this order:
   *bottom slice of sourdough
   *Thousand Island dressing (generous amount)
   *tempeh
   *a small layer of Daiya mozzerella
   *sauerkraut (I used a good amount)
   *another small layer of Daiya mozzerella
   *top slice of sourdough
~The sandwich will look huge, but will compact in the press
~Place into panini press, and cook until 
beautifully toasted and cheeze is melted
~Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make the other sammys.
~DIG IN AND ENJOY!!!!!

"THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING"
(This makes just enough for the sandwiches. Feel free to double and get creative with it's uses!)

*1/2 C Vegan Mayo ( Let's be honest people, Veganaise is the ONLY way to go)
*1/4C organic (no crap added) ketchup
*1 TBS organic yellow mustard
*1 tsp horseradish
*1-2 dill pickles (I used Bubbies-THE BEST pickles out there), chopped finely

~Mix all ingredients together.
~You are ready to rock n' roll

Get ready to have your MIND BLOWN by the vegan goodness!! I hope after eating this sandwich you will be left asking the same question I did "Where have reuben all my life?!?"
(Clearly, I'm a dork. Totally OK with that)

New to veganism? Any questions on where to find your ingredients or what these ingredients are, feel free to ask. I'd be happy to help in any way!

Looking forward to your feedback!