I have a thing for kale, a very serious devotion… um, addiction.
In my daily life, through my writing and company, and via my cooking classes I hope to encourage everyone to try kale and fall in love with the tastiest, greenest, healthiest thing you can put in your mouth!
I’ve previously taught cooking classes focused entirely on greens, which brings me to Eat Your Greens: Sandwich Edition. Not only is kale (alongside cabbage, it’s pale and crunchy cousin) a perfect side dish, a great addition to your salad, and/or a healthy boost for your smoothie, it also can rock your sandwiches. Here are two (very simple) ideas for sandwiches to celebrate the green goddess within us all!
Mushroom & Kale Sandwich with Cilantro Hummus
bring a napkin- it’s a bit messy with all those veggies!
1/2 cup cooked kale
1/2 cup stir fried veggies (mushrooms, onions & carrots in the photo above)
a few slices of avocado
some goat cheese, if you do that
1/4 cup cilantro hummus (see below)
some bread, wholegrain is sturdy and healthy!
You can either use leftover veggies for this or quickly saute some onions for 10 minutes, some mushrooms, and some shredded carrots until soft. Toss in the kale until wilted and remove from heat. Layer on the bread as you like… I bet you’ve done this sandwich thing before!
cilantro ups the greens factor, and adds a nice light touch to the hummus
Cilantro Hummus
1 sixteen ounce can garbanzo beans (or homecooked, about 1 1/2 cups)
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander (cilantro in another form, did you know?!)
pinch salt
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- Blend the beans with the garlic,lemon, tahini and olive oil until mostly smooth.
- Add the spices and blend to combine. Add some water (or more oil) to make a smooth paste, and then toss in the cilantro and blend until the leaves are mostly chopped, but some big leafies are ok. This adds a nice green, herbal flavor to the hummus, and pairs nicely with the greens in the sandwich.
A note: I used canned beans for this recipe, which are always a bit softer than homemade. Use whichever you prefer, adding more liquids as necessary.
Hempy-Tempeh ‘Reuben’
This sandwich is not a true Reuben for sure, but the name sounds cute, right? It’s kinda a deconstructed reuben made with a hearty tempeh foundation, rich caramelized onions, and some light cabbage & kale slaw in combination with an amazingly delicious hemp-almond dressing to top it off. I like this sandwich open face with lots of dressing, but do it up however you like! The ingredient list is long, but it comes together pretty quickly.
this one is pretty damn messy too
1 block tempeh
2 tbsp high heat oil
1/2 cup onion, sliced thinly
4 cups green cabbage, sliced very thin
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded kale, massaged for softness
½ cup almond butter
½ cup hemp seeds
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp miso
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice, more to taste
¼ water, more to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
- Slice the tempeh in 1/2 inch slices. Heat up the skillet on medium heat, add some oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the tempeh and cook until just browned on each side, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat to cool.
- Add the onions to the hot pan, and lower the heat just a bit. Add more oil if necessary, and cook until well-browned, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, and let onions continue cooking in the pan (but watch them, so they don’t blacken like mine in the photo, ahem).
- Meanwhile, prepare your slaw:
- Chop all the vegetables, and add to a large bowl. To ‘massage’ the kale simply squish in your hands until the kale releases some of its liquid and turns a nice bright green. Set aside.
- In your food processor, blend the almond butter, hempseeds, garlic, miso, vinegar, lemon juice, water, and pepper until smooth. Add more water to achieve a creamy but still thick consistency.
- Save 1/2 cup dressing on the side, and pour the remaining dressing over the cabbage salad, stir to combine. As is this slaw keeps for a few days in the fridge.
- To made the sandwiches: simply top some lightly toasted bread with a smear of the dressing. Add tempeh and top with the caramelized onions. Cover with the slaw and munch away!