Radical Reuben Sandwiches are a vegetarian version of the popular sandwich replacing the usual corned beef with meaty mushrooms.
Radical Reuben Sandwiches
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
One of my favorite sandwiches in the world is a Reuben sandwich. And I love it so much I’d love to make it for all my friends, but when you have vegetarian friends, that just doesn’t seem to work out. But fortunately, there is a way around it, using meatlike mushrooms marinated to bring out their best “corned beef” like qualities, which makes it a perfect choice for World Vegetarian Day.
And even if you do like meat, it is always nice to give it a break and try something different for both ethical, ecological and health reasons. We all know we should eat more veggies. And doing so without a loss in passion for the food that most meat eaters feel when they sink their teeth into a thick mound of corned beef. I knew when I made this that I could also have punched up the beefy flavor with a bit of bouillon in the marinade, but left it out to keep this all veg. But I want to mention it for those who like the mushroom idea and who aren’t averse to adding beef as part of that marinade. Obviously not vegan here (because of the cheese mainly) but even with vegan cheese, there are concerns with the brown sugar, butter and possibly the bread (I didn’t bake it myself so cannot vouch for it). So if you want to make this vegan, it can be done using substitutes- you just have to be careful about what is in those substitutes.
But otherwise, this is a sandwich most can enjoy and I hope you do so, both for World Vegetarian Day and also as part of your Oktoberfest celebrations, putting a little German-American spin on your casual meal. Until tomorrow (#AppleWeek is starting!)—
~Sue
Radical Reuben Sandwiches
Marinate: 2 hours
Prep and Cook: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces portobello mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons pickling spice
- cheesecloth (optional)
- 16 ounce can sauerkraut
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
- 4 slices rye bread
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 3 tablespoons Thousand Island dressing
Method:
- Brush off the mushrooms and remove stem. Use a soup spoon to scrape off the dark gills from the underside.
- Slice mushrooms in half, then slice them thinly.
- Drain the kraut saving all the juice; squeeze the kraut dry (save that juice too).
- Heat the juice until it is hot and wrap the pickling spice in a small piece of cheesecloth cinching it off with a twistie tie. Add the sachet to the hot brine.
- Pour the brine over the mushrooms and marinate at least a couple hours.
- Take one tablespoon of the butter and saute the onion in a small pan with the caraway seed until the onion is soft, then add the kraut and the apple cider and simmer until the kraut is pretty much dry.
- Drain the marinating mushrooms and discard the brine and sachet.
- Heat the remaining butter in a small skillet then add the mushrooms and 2 teaspoons of brown sugar; cook until mushrooms are soft.
- Build the sandwiches each with 2 pieces of bread spread with the Thousand Island, mushrooms and sauerkraut between the cheese. You probably won’t use all the kraut unless you do 4-6 sandwiches. Save it for another use.
- Griddle the sandwiches until golden on each side and cheese is melted.
From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com
Sunday Supper
Recipes for World Vegetarian Day
Hosted by Susan Pridmore from The Wimpy Vegetarian
Appetizers
- Citrus Marinated Olives by Cricket’s Confections
- Goat Cheese and Red Onion Quesadilla by The Freshman Cook
- Grilled Green Tomato and Mozzarella Salad by Monica’s Table
- Italian Lupini Beans by She Loves Biscotti
- Orange Ginger Carrot Soup by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Desserts
- Chocolate Orange Beet Cake by Baking Sense
- Make Your Children Eat Their Vegetables…in a Cupcake! by The Ninja Baker
- Zucchini Blueberry Coffee Cake by Pies and Plots
Entrees
- Butternut Squash Zoodles with Fried Sage Sauce by Home Sweet Homestead
- Cheesy Cauliflower Cake by Food Lust People Love
- Chipotle Tofu Tacos with Plantain by Caroline’s Cooking
- Glazed Carrot and Quinoa Salad with Crispy Chickpeas by Helpful Homemade
- Green Goddess Mac and Cheese by Moore or Less Cooking
- Mujaddara by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta by Wholistic Woman
- Pumpkin Gnocchi and Spinach with Sage Brown Butter Sauce by The Redhead Baker
- Radical Reuben Sandwich by Palatable Pastime
- Roasted Vegetable Casserole by A Mind “Full”Mom
- Spicy Tofu and Rice Stir Fry by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Strawberry Soba Noodle Salad by Sew You Think You Can Cook
- Vegan Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with Spinach by Cooking Chat
- Vegetarian Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie by Take A Bite Out of Boca
- Veggie Riggies: A Rigatoni Sauté by Hardly A Goddess
Sides
- Caramelized Onions and Cauliflower by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Cauliflower Tabbouleh with Chickpeas by Simple and Savory
- Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Rice by My Life Cookbook
- Locro de Papa (Ecuadorian Potato Soup) by Curious Cuisiniere
- South African Yellow Rice by What Smells So Good?
- Spiralized Sweet Potato and Apple Sauté with Dates by The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Turmeric Hummus Casserole by Dizzy Busy and Hungry
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Crockpot Corned Beef for Sandwiches
great idea to use the mushrooms!
Portobello mushrooms are wonderful meat substitutes…Your Reuben looks radically delicious! P.s. My 93-year-old father’s sandwich is the Reuben…Maybe I can make this version for him on a visit <3
Looks fantastic, mushrooms are fantastic for this sammie! Nettie
Great looking sandwich, Sue! I love a good Reuben and now I want one… I’m not a big mushroom lover, but I could give them are try with this preparation.