Tempeh Reubens

Who doesn't love a good reuben? The classic reuben, a huge pile of corned beef piled high with kraut, thousand island or russian dressing, and swiss on grilled rye, is delicious if done right. I love them, but it would be rare to find corned beef in my refrigerator, or thousand island dressing for that matter. But I do now and then have a chunk of tempeh hanging out in my fridge, begging for attention. This lighter and just as tasty version is the perfect warm and comfy sandwich, but won't make you feel guilty afterward. Toasty tempeh topped with sauteed shiitake mushrooms and onions, swiss cheese, arugula, and sauerkraut on toasted bread with a shmear of horseradish mayo and dijon. Bliss.
Even if you don't have sauerkraut or swiss, you can easily make lots of delicious sandwiches with a few slices of sauteed tempeh. Other suggestions for yummy tempeh sandwiches are mozzerella with roasted veggies, basil, and tomato sauce, or sauteed greens with feta, olives, and hummus, or a simple mayo, mustard, lettuce, and tomato sammy. Just sautee tempeh as in this recipe, and top to your hearts content. A healthy, easy, and fairly inexpensive treat to pack into your lunch.

Ingredients:

Organic Tempeh (I like Lightlife brand)
A good handful of shiitake mushrooms
Onion
Arugula
Sauerkraut
Swiss Cheese
Mayonnaise
Minced Horseradish from a jar
Olive oil, salt, and pepper
Bread (Rye is traditionally used, but I used flatbread here)

Slice tempeh into thin, sandwich-friendly squares. Slice onions and mushrooms, use as much or as little as you like.

Heat olive oil in pan on medium-low heat, add tempeh. Allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes on the first side. Flip slices of tempeh and add onions and mushrooms to the pan. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sautee the mushrooms and onions while the second side of the tempeh browns.
When both sides of the tempeh slices are lightly browned remove from the pan and lay the swiss on top to melt.

Finish mushrooms and onions if needed, and remove from pan when soft.

Grill the bread lightly in the same pan while mixing mayonnaise and horseradish in a bowl. Add as much or as little horseradish as you like to the mayo, its your sandwich!

On a plate, spread the horseradish mayo on half of the bread and dijon on the other half. Add the tempeh with swiss, mushrooms, onions, arugula, and sauerkraut. Serve with a pickle and chips.