We are trying to incorporate more fermented foods into our diet, including sauerkraut. I like sauerkraut, but I can only eat so much of it as a side dish, so we went on a recipe treasure hunt. So many options! We started with a Reuben-style sandwich that uses mushrooms based on this recipe from Real Simple. I liked the idea of the mushrooms, but the spices seemed a little boring so I kept searching. That brought me to this recipe by The Curious Chickpea and Vegan Tempeh Reuben by My Darling Vegan​, which both used tempeh instead of mushrooms.

Wow, this is a good sandwich. I have never had a Reuben so I really had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised that it was so yummy.

Recipe notes: 

• We stuck with mushrooms (8 oz. of white and 8 oz. of Baby Bella mushrooms but we could have used more). To prepare them, we used a combination of sautéing in a cast iron skillet and cooking in an air fryer after marinating them.
• Follow the link to the Russian dressing from My Darling Vegan. We made a half recipe and skipped the minced onion.

• We made our own rye bread using this Easy Homemade Rye Bread Recipe from Mashed.com. We found it needed more water and more rising time on the second rise (but that may depend on your ambient temperature). We added caraway seeds and will add more next time. Turned out great! And if you have read the ingredient labels on store-bought rye bread lately, making it yourself seems like a good move.

• We used this recipe from Karissa’s Vegan Kitchen to make our own Worcestershire sauce: https://www.karissasvegankitchen.com/vegan-worcestershire-sauce.

• We used Just Like Smoked Provolone from Violife but might try some homemade Swiss cheese next time.

• Also tastes great with sliced avocado.

I love to make fudge at this time of year, so for dessert, we tried a half recipe of this Easy 5-Minute Fudge from Nora Cooks and added crushed peppermint to the top.

Photo by Christina Rumpf on Unsplash