JUICY, SAUCY, CRUNCHY, AND TASTY... JUST LIKE A REUBEN SHOULD BE!

I love St. Patrick's Day. This love is mostly due to it's rituals of food and drink. I like to spend the day cooking and sipping on a really good Stout Beer. My favorite must have item for St. Patrick's Day feasting is the Reuben. This version is meat AND dairy free. 100% plant based and vegan, this Reuben will blow you away at how good it tastes. 

This Reuben replaces the traditional corned beef with a beet, tempeh, and seitan mix. The "brine" taste gets mimicked by pickling spices and apple cider vinegar. Russian Dressing is a must on any good Reuben and the recipe below makes the perfect dairy free version. It tastes straight up like the sauce on a Big Mac. The final touches of this sandwich are a fresh sour dough bread, high quality sauerkraut, and vegan cheese to bind the sandwich together.

*Filling can be made a day or two ahead and saved in the fridge. This will save you on prep time the day of making the sandwiches.

VEGAN REUBEN SANDWICH WITH RUSSIAN DRESSING

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING

• 1 Package Tempeh
• 1 Package Seitan
• 1 Small Beet
• 4 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• Cooking Spray

PICKLING SPICE MIX

• 1 Tsp Ground Mustard
• 1 Tsp Allspice Berries
• 1 Tsp Whole Cloves
• 1 Tsp Cardamon Pods
• 1 Tsp Pink Salt or Sea Salt
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
• 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Coriander
• 1/2 Tsp Pepper

FIXIN'S

• Loaf of Sourdough
• Sauerkraut
• Daiya Vegan Mozzarella
• NonDairy Butter

RUSSIAN DRESSING

• 1 Cup Vegan Mayo
• 1/4 Cup Finely Diced Onion
• 1/4 Cup Ketchup
• 1/4 Cup Diced Pickles
• 1 Tbsp Prepared Horseradish
• 1 Tsp Hot Sauce (Tabasco)
• 1 Tsp Vegan Worcestershire
• 1/2 Tsp Sweet Paprika

HOW TO MAKE:

1. Start by making the filling. Slice the tempeh, seitan, and beet as thinly as you can. Aim for longer pieces vs. little pieces for easier sandwich making. 
2. Heat up a large skillet on medium high. Once hot, spray with cooking spray. Add all the sliced filling ingredients to the pan and mix. 
3. Add the pickling spices to the pan. There are two ways to do this... The first is to add in all the spices and mix with the filling. This will require you to pick out all the solid spices once done (allspice, cloves, cardamon, cinnamon, and bayleaves). This is how I make it because I think it seasons the filling the best. The other way is to place all the solid spices in a small cheese cloth and tie. This option is good for easy removal once done. Either way, the flavor will be good. 
4. Once the sliced filling and all pickling seasonings are in the pan, mix well. Then, pour in 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and about a 1/4 cup of water. Mix well and lower the heat to low. 
5. Keep cooking the filling. Each time the liquid runs dry, put in another tbsp of vinegar and 1/4 of water. Once you have reached the 3 tbsp of vinegar, proceed to just add water. Cook down for about 45min to 1 hour. The beets should be soft and easy to bite through. 
6. While the filling is cooking, prepare the dressing. First, dice the onions and the pickles. Then, mix all ingredients together. Taste for salt and horseradish kick. Adjust to your liking.
7. Pull the filling off heat. Store to use next day in the fridge or place to the side in a container if you are making the sandwiches right away.
8. Get ready to make the sandwiches! Slice the sourdough in thick slices (about 1in thick). Butter one side with the NonDairy butter (about 1/2 - 1 tsp each side). Create an assembly station where you have the pre-made filling (remove spices if you didn't use the cheesecloth method), mixed dressing, sauerkraut, vegan cheese, and buttered bread ready by your stove.
9. Heat a large clean skillet on medium high and spray with cooking spray once hot. This method makes two sandwiches at a time. If you have a griddle, you can make more at once.
10. On one half of the pan, place down about 3/4 cup of sauerkraut. Stir around until it's spread out on that side. You'll want to cook off the liquid in the kraut before it goes into the sandwich.
11. On the other half of the pan, start making the sandwiches. Pick up a piece of butter bread and on the non butter side, spread 1-2 tbsp of Russian Dressing. *Sloppy is ok! Then, sprinkle about 2 tbsp of vegan cheese over the dressing. Do this for two pieces of bread and then place them down on the clean side of the pan, butter side down - dressing side up.
12. Scoop up 1/4 of the kraut and place over the cheese for each piece. 
13. Over the kraut layer, place as much filling as you can fit. You can push it down into the bread a little with a flat flipper.
14. Repeat the layering process by adding the remaining kraut over the filling, then some cheese, then the buttered bread spread with dressing. 
15. At this point, there will be two assembled sandwiches in the pan. It is a good idea to weight them down as them cook. To do so, place a heavy skillet on top of the sandwiches or a plate with something to weight it down. The idea is to press the sandwiches down and get them to compact. 
16. Continue to cook one side until it is golden brown. Lower the heat if you need to, you'll want them to cook about 5-10 minutes each side for the best results.
17. Once one side is crisp and golden, it's time to flip. Now... this is risky business but it can be done! Remove the weight and slide a flat turner under the sandwich. Place another turned on top (or a large spoon... whatever you have that can act as another piece of pressure). Holding both sides firmly, rotate the entire sandwich slowly to flip. 
18. Repeat the cooking process on this side. 
19. To serve, cut in half and have at em.

NUTRITION INFO:

Almost all my recipes contain nutrition info... but these will not. This is a sloppy delicious sandwich, enjoy it! It's not terribly high in fat or anything bad for you. The ingredients vary so much based on which products you use, so keep an eye on the labels to avoid any surprises.

For more nutrition ideas and food inspiration, follow me on Instagram and Facebook. Also, check out the Nourish posts from the blog for more recipes and nutrition tips.

Thanks for stopping by! I am not a nutritionist but I am a nutrition junkie. I love looking for new recipes that help me achieve optimum health and wellness. I hope you enjoy these and if you have something to add or share, feel free to leave a comment.

TTYL