Gardein ?Steak? Sandwich

The full title of this sandwich is “Gardein ‘Steak’ Sandwich with Watercress, Red Pepper, and Horseradish Mayonnaise” and it comes from Tal Ronnen’s “The Conscious Cook”.  I have to say, the more recipes I try from this book, the more I fall in love with it!

This is one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had, red peppers and all.  I used to hate red peppers, and I might still have an issue with cooked ones, but I’m trying to force myself to like them raw.  They’re really good on this sandwich, so I encourage you to try the whole recipe as written.  Ryan’s not a huge pepper fan either, but he also really liked them on this.

We served these to two of our good friends who are pretty far from vegetarian, and they loved these sandwiches.  They even went back for seconds!  I was amazed by how much these savory sandwiches tasted like real steak.  The rub for the “meat” smells (and tastes) so good, and I think it’s the key to the amazing flavor.  They also weren’t as hard to make as I thought they’d be, which was a nice surprise.

One word of caution, though – the first horseradish that I grabbed at the store was a sauce rather than “prepared horseradish”.  Once I opened the jar, I could tell just by looking at it that it contained eggs.  I checked the ingredients, and sure enough, there were eggs and dairy in it.  Not sure why I didn’t check that at the store, because I’m pretty good about that, but it meant a second trip out, which was kind of a drag.  So as a reminder, always check the ingredients and save yourself some time!

And honestly, if you don’t have this book already, I can’t encourage you enough to buy it.  Even if you’re not vegan or vegetarian, you’ll still love it.  Lots of the recipes are geared toward former meat-loving vegans, and they don’t disappoint.  At first glance some of the dishes might seem complicated to make, and there are definitely some that take a bit more time than others.  But many recipes aren’t difficult at all, and everything I’ve tried so far has been so incredibly delicious!