Vegan Sandwich: Tangy Tamarind Beetroot Sandwich

Vegan sandwiches are remarkably hard to come by. Hummus and roasted vegetables are lovely but ever so predictable. I'm not strictly vegan, but as a lactose in tolerant vegetarian, I eat a lot of vegan food. When I'm on the go and in need of a vegetarian lunch time solution, checking the counter at the corner shop or my local deli, I am often left sad and hungry because all their offerings are full of flesh and cheese. Everybody loves a good sammich and I don't see why I should go without! 

You've seen my recipe for Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Sandwich on Toasted Turkish Bread with Homemade Vegan Olive Tapenade and Tempeh 'Chik'n' Salad Sandwich, my latest addition to my vegan sandwich roster is this tasty little flat bread number with beetroot and 'slaw. Yum!

 

Tangy Tamarind Beetroot Sandwich

2-3 boiled beetroot (boil yourself or use vacum pack style)
1 teaspoon Green Tamarind Pickle
Juice of 1 lemon
approx 1/2 cup water
flat bread - something thick like a chappati or paratha
2-3 tablespoons flat bread
3- 4 leave of Spring greens
1 carrot
1/2 onion
2-3 tablespoons of vegannaise/mayonnaise

1. Slice your beetroot into 1/4 inch thick disks and place in a long bowl.
2. Add your Green Tamarind Pickle, lemon juice and water to the beetroot and let them marinade while you make your coleslaw. Make sure that all the beets are covered.
3. For the coleslaw, finely chop greens, and onion and mix with vegannaise/mayonnaise until fully covered. This s a vey basic 'slaw without too much seasoning as I don't want to over power the beets. Let stand.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and saute the beets until you've got a few crunchy bits and they're hot all the way through. Add the marinade to the pan to make sure they don't dry out...they should be hot and juicy when your done. Remove from heat and let stand while you heat the flat bread.
5. In a hot pan(I used the same one!) add a tablespoon of oil and heat your flat bread until it's hot and foldable.Then remove from heat and assemble you tasty lunch. Place the beets on half of the flat bread, slaw on top and fold over for serious tastieness.

Marinating Beetroot

Sauteed Beetroot with Crunchy Bits

Warming Paratha Flat Bread

Tangy Tamarind Beetroot Sandwich

Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Sandwich on Toasted Turkish Bread with Homemade Vegan Olive Tapenade

I know, 'a sandwich?' but for real tho', I was proud of this one. I love Turkish Flat bread for dipping thought I'd see if worked for sandwichy munching. The results were delicious.

Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Sandwich on Toasted Turkish Bread with Homemade Vegan Olive Tapenade

Ingredients

• 1/2 thinly sliced courgette
• 1/2 red pepper sliced length ways
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 portion (about 3"x6") of turkish flatbread
• 2 - 3 tbsp olive tapenade
• 1 handful of raw spinach leaves

1. Roast the pepper and courgette in the oven at gas mark 7 for 15 to 20 mins.


2. Cut the Turkish bread across the middle to and open out. Next spread the tops with oil oil or margarine and place in the bottom tray of the oven for the last 10 minutes of roasting.


3. When the bread is nice an brown on the edges and the veg has got those tasty crunchy bits on, pull the bread out and spread the stuff that makes this recipe worth putting on the internet, the olive tapenade, all over both sides of the bread. Lots of recipes include anchovies in tapenade, but they're not necessary. Here's my recipe:

     Vegan Olive Tapenade

• 1 cup black olives
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 1 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or caper vinegar)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1. Just pop all of this stuff in your food processor/blender and mince until you've got a coarse paste of olive-y goodness.
2. From here it's like any other sandwich. Layer the veg on top of one side of bread, followed by the spinach, then close the top over and enjoy the spoils.