Description
This recipe is adapted from The Complete Vegan Cookbook by Natural Gourmet Institute (Clarkson Potter, 2019).
Ingredients
Scale
For the Sandwiches
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 2 medium garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 dried bay leaf
- One 8-ounce package tempeh, cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips
- 2 tablespoons oil of your choice, for frying
- About 1 cup drained sauerkraut
- 2 ripe avocados
- 8 slices whole wheat or sourdough sandwich bread
For the Russian Dressing* (see note below)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (conventional or vegan)
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
Instructions
- In a medium pot, combine the soy sauce, garlic, bay leaf, and tempeh slices. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes (the liquid will reduce by about half).
- Meanwhile, make the dressing by stirring the ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- When the tempeh is ready, carefully drain it in a colander (discard broth, garlic, and bay leaf) and let stand for a few minutes so the steam can dry out any remaining moisture on the tempeh.
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, arrange the tempeh in the skillet in a single layer (if it doesn’t all fit, cook it in 2 batches). Cook until golden on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and cook the other side.
- To assemble a sandwich, smash half of an avocado into 1 slice of toasted bread and spread 1 to 2 tablespoons Russian dressing on the second slice. Arrange tempeh slices on the avocado and pile sauerkraut on top. Close with the second slice. Serve immediately.
- (Store leftover tempeh in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 4 days.)
Notes
You can make this from scratch or use a storebought version. Chipotle mayo would also work nicely here.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwich (with whole wheat bread)
- Calories: 535
- Sodium: 980 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Carbohydrates: 46 g
- Fiber: 15.2 g
- Protein: 21.5 g
