Vegan and Vegetarian Sandwiches

Some folks cannot fathom what could make a sandwich good without meat.  As I said in my post for the hummus recipe, the secret is good bread and a delicious spread.  Then pile on the veggies to your heart's delight.  Here are some ideas for various vegetarian and vegan sandwiches (The ones marked with an asterisk are easily vegan if you check the bread.):


*1.  hummus with cucumber slices and roasted red pepper on baguette
*2.  olive spread (like you'd find on a muffaletta) with tomato, red onion, green romain lettuce, and sliced banana peppers on a hoagie bun
3.  goat cheese smeared on a toasted bagel with white onion, roasted red pepper, and and arugula
4.  pimento cheese (make this homemade by mixing grated cheddar cheese, mayo, and chopped pimento) and ruffley greenleaf lettuce on white bread
*5.  peanut butter mixed with smashed bananas on wholegrain wheat bread
6.  baguette split lengthwise, toasted, then spread with pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella, then run under the broiler


And here are some ideas that don't follow the bread-spread-veggie recipe:
*7.  falafel tucked into a pita pocket with green lettuce, cucumber slices, and tomato chunks, then drizzled with tahini-lemon sauce (I'll get you the recipe for this sauce later.)
*8.  veggie burger (Morningstar Farms makes a very nice garden burger if you don't have a recipe to make your own or don't have time.) on a sesame seeded bun with burger toppings
9.  grilled cheese on rye (with onion, tomato, and/or even jalepeno tucked into the sandwich before grilling?)...And American cheese isn't the only cheese you can use, you know.  You can even combine cheeses for a gourmet grilled cheese experience.


SO.  Now you know that vegetarians have puh-lenty of options for sandwich makings.  Here's to all the picnics you'll be making and the great brown bag lunches you'll be taking to the office now!

Hummus

There is a secret to making fantastic vegetarian sandwiches:  good bread and one exciting spread.  You need to have an exciting spread,  then just load on veggies to your heart's content.  Hummus is a spread that qualifies, and it can also be used as a dip for chips (corn, potato, pita, etc.) or crudités.

I'm going to share a recipe for hummus here that is based on the one in Mollie Katzen's classic vegetarian cookbook:  The Moosewood Cookbook.  Here's the 411:

2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas or ceci beans), drained and rinsed
1/4 c. plus 2 T. tahini (Tahini is ground sesame seeds, like peanut butter is ground peanuts.)
2 juicy lemons, juiced and deseeded
1 t. salt
extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, and salt.  Process until you have a nice texture (determine if you like it chunkier or smoother, and go to that point).  If the hummus is too thick, drizzle olive oil into the mixture with the motor running until it has thinned to your liking.  Serve the hummus as a dip with more olive oil and paprika on top, or spread it on a sandwich and sprinkle on paprika to taste.  YUM!

Hummus is often served with Middle Eastern mezzas along with things like dolmas, baba ghanoush, and tabouleh.  It's healthy and delicious!

Mayonnaise Rolls

Did that title get your attention?  Mayonnaise rolls sound like strange things, indeed, no?  Well, they are actually quite delicious, and this is one thing I use mayonnaise for even though I don't like mayonnaise, per se.  The rolls go really well with a soul food-type of meal.  They are yeasty and slightly sweet with a cake-y texture.

I got this recipe from my mom (Hi Mom!), and I'm not sure where she got it.

2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. sugar
2 T. mayonnaise (or vegan mayonnaise if you want the rolls to be vegan)
1 pkg. (or 2 and 1/4 t. if using a jar) bread yeast (This is for flavor only, not for rising.)
1 c. plant-based milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a muffin pan using canola oil, nonstick spray, or vegan butter.

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add mayonnaise (or vegan mayo) and plant milk, stirring until blended.  Evenly divide the dough among 10 muffin cups.  (Most muffin pans have 12 cups, but this recipe makes about 10 rolls comfortably.)  Bake until golden brown.

Homemade Mayonnaise

I have a friend, Jacqueline, who is from France.  I remember the first time I made mayonnaise at home, I was going crazy about how easy it was.  Jacqueline told me that store-bought mayonnaise was a novelty to her when she moved to the United States, because everyone just makes it at home in France.  Why would you buy it with a bunch of weird ingredients at the store when it is so simple to make at home?

I have to be honest about mayonnaise:  I don't really like it.  But I do occasionally have a use for it, which is why I started making it in the first place.  Now Scott makes it, because he does like it and will go through a batch easily if it gets made.  And Scott's not a cook...That's how easy homemade mayonnaise is.

This recipe is not mine.  I got it straight from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook.  I hope she doesn't mind if I share it with you.  I should also mention that this cookbook has a recipe for homemade vegan mayonnaise, too, so if you're vegan, you should pick up a copy of her cookbook for that recipe (and many others).

1 large egg (I like to use free-range eggs.  Yes, they are more expensive.  However, the chickens have a better quality of life, and you CAN taste and even see a difference in these eggs.)
3 T. cider vinegar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. dry mustard
1 1/4 c. canola oil


That's all of the ingredients!  Aren't you amazed?  Here's what you do:


Put the egg, vinegar, salt, mustard, and 2 T. of the canola oil in your blender.  Start the motor running and let it go for a few seconds.  With the motor running, start drizzling in the remaining oil.  The mixture will change to mayonnaise before your eyes!  I never get tired of watching this happen.


Sometimes my mayo gets so thick before all the oil is incorporated that I have to turn off the motor and manually mix some oil in with a spoon, then turn the motor back on.  Either way, once all the oil is incorporated, turn off the motor and scrape every last bit of the mayo into a jar or container.  Refrigerate your homemade mayonaise, and there you go!

TVP Pizza

TVP stands for Texturized Vegetable Protein.  It's fairly bland when you first rehydrate it, but it's got a wonderful texture once you spice it up and put it in something.  This pizza is DELICIOUS.  I wish I still had some right now, but even the leftovers from this pizza go fast.

The crust recipe is basically from Annie Somerville's fantastic cookbook Fields of Greens, with only a minor adjustment.  It's simple to make, but it takes about an hour.  If you don't have time for this, use a store-bought crust, but I guarantee it won't be as delicious.  This makes two 14- or 15-inch pizzas.

For the crust:
2 T. cornmeal
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 T. bread yeast
1 1/4 c. lukewarm water (The best test for the temperature is to let it run on the inside of your wrist.  If you don't really notice it, it's the right temp.  If it feels warm or cool, adjust the temperature.)
1 t. salt
3.5 cups of all-purpose white flour, plus more for kneading and rolling the dough

For the topping:
1 c. TVP
7/8 c. boiling water
1 t. salt
oregano, to taste (optional)
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 - 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 handfuls frozen broccoli pieces
your favorite jarred tomato spaghetti sauce or a can of tomato pizza sauce

Toppings, as desired (e.g. kale, spinach, banana peppers, vegan cheese, whatever)

In a 2-quart bowl, mix the cornmeal and the crust's olive oil.  In a separate small bowl, combine the lukewarm water and yeast and allow the yeast to grow and become fluffy for about 5 minutes.  Pour the yeast mixture (You may have to manually scrape out all the yeast.) and the crust's salt in with the olive oil/cornmeal mixture and combine.

Begin adding the flour to the olive oil mixture, 1/2 c. at a time.  Stir to mix after each addition.  Once it gets difficult to stir, pour out onto a clean, lightly floured countertop.  Knead with your hands, adding more flour to prevent stickiness if necessary.  (If you don't know how to "knead" dough, you'll press in with the heel of your hand, then sort of pull the edge over on the rest of the dough and combine it using the same heel-of-the-hand motion.)  After vigorously kneading for about 5 minutes, your dough should have the consistency of an ear lobe.  If you pat it with your hand, it feels like someone's stomach, maybe.  At this point, pour a small amount of olive oil in the 2-quart bowl you used, and return the dough to the bowl.  Turn the dough over to coat it with the oil.  Cover with a tea towel or cloth napkin or something similiar, and put it in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, 35-40 minutes.  (NOTE:  I often turn the oven on 200 degrees F for 1 minute to make it a "warm place."  Be sure to turn the oven OFF reasonably quickly before putting your dough in there!  You'll need to take it out about 10 minutes before cooking time so you can preheat the oven.)

While the dough is rising, mix the dry TVP with the boiling water, the optional oregano, and 1 t. salt in a medium bowl.  Allow this to stand for 10 minutes to rehydrate.

Heat the topping's olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion, garlic, and broccoli pieces to the warmed oil.  Sauté until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.  Scrape everything from the skillet into the TVP, and mix.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.  (Be sure you've taken your dough out if you were warming it in there!)  Mix tomato sauce into the TVP mixture until it has reached the consistency you like for your pizza topping.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down with your fist.  It will deflate slightly.  Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.  Roll the first piece out to about a 14- or 15-inch circle or square, depending on the size and shape of the pizza pan or baking sheet you're using and also depending on how thick you like your crust.  Move the rolled crust to your pan, and spread 1/2 of the mixture over the crust.  Apply desired toppings.  Repeat with the other piece of dough and the other half of the topping.

Bake each pizza for 12 minutes at 500 degrees F, until crust is risen and browned.  Top with crushed red pepper or serve with pepperoncini, if desired, and enjoy!  However, remember that you cooked this pizza at 500 degrees F.  It is hot, so please let it cool down before you put it in your mouth!  ;o)