feel food club

sandwich

The Ultimate (vegetarian) Bánh Mi Recipe Anyone Will Love (vegan options)

by Kommentar verfassen

Bánh what? Bánh Mi! This vegetarian/ vegan take on the Vietnamese Classic is nothing you would want to miss! Imagine crispy baguette, with a tangy, satisfying, spicy mayo, some super flavorful tofu, crunchy pickled veggies and a whole bunch of freshness! Doesn‘t that sound like something we would all need to bring some summery happiness into these cloudy days?

What is more, this can easily be prepared beforehand (essentially this means marinating the tofu and pickling the veggies) and then the dish is ready in what – 10 minutes probably! Sounds easy, right? Well, it is! And it is SO good!! When I made this, we devoured it, and finished every last crumb, although we already were super super full and happy 🙂

What is special about this dish?

Traditionally, bánh mi is served with pork sausage, cilantro, pickled carrots, radishes and buttery mayonnaise is a short baguette. However, we want to make it a little bit more nutritious and therefore do a few changes. Instead ig pork sausage, we are using marinated and pan-fried tofu. This not only makes this meal vegetarian (and optionally vegan) but also mire nutrient dense and less heavy in fats. What is more, instead of the buttery mayo, we are lightning it up by mixing in some greek yoghurt (in the following paragraph you can read how this is healthier). If you want to make a vegan version of it, you could decide to go for vegan mayo and for a plant based yoghurt instead.

How healthy is this recipe?

In general it can be said that this dish is pretty nutritious, because of the variety of ingredients. The pickled vegetables, that really account for that typical bánh mi flavor, are high in fibre and vitamins. The carrots for example, are a great source of Vitamin C, which helps boost your immune system – great for the colder season ahead!

Besides, the tofu also is high in protein and does contain all amino acids to make it a complete protein (if you want to read more about why tofu is so good for you, click here). And in comparison to traditional bánh mi, which is served with pork, it is considerably lower in saturated fats and higher in fibre. Since we are adding soy sauce to the marinade, the sodium content is rather high, however, you could use low-sodium soy sauce.

The bread is a great source of carbohydrates, providing you energy. It though is not wholegrain and is a simple carb. For more nutritional value, you can simply use whole grain baguette. This then is a complex carbohydrate, causing your blood sugar levels not to spike and keeping you full for longer due to its fibre.

Last but not least we have the mayo. It can be said that without the Mayo it is not really a bánh mi because it gives it this classic spicy and rich flavor. Nonetheless, mayo contains a lot of fats. They for the most prt are unsaturated, which is great for your brain, but too much also is not ideal. Therefore we are lightning this sauce up by mixing the mayo with greek yoghurt and sriracha. The greek yoghurt comes with a decent amount of protein and does not really change the flavor too much! A great way to lighten things up!

Make it vegan!

In case you want to make a vegan version out of this dish, that is super easy! Instead of traditional mayo and greek yoghurt, just use vegan mayo and a plant based yoghurt alternative. The bread should be vegan anyway and regarding the tofu marinade, you could just use vegan fish sauce or leave it out completely! And there you go and have your vegan version of it!

Is it really that simple to make?

Yes, it is! The only things you need to prepare are the tofu and the pickles. For the tofu, all that needs to be done is mixing the different sauces with garlic and ginger and letting the tofu bath in there for a few hours. The longer the better! If you only have one hour, that works too, just be aware that the flavor will not be that intense.

What else needs to be prepared are the pickles, but also those are easy peasy. Here we add some vinegar, rice wine vinegar, water and a little bit of sugar to a pot, bring it to a boil and then pour it over the slices carrots and radish and also just let them chill in the fridge.

Once the preparation is done, the rest is fairly easy. We just need to fry the tofu in the pan for about 2 minutes on each side and then fill the bread with the mayo, the tofu, the herbs, pickles and veggies! And voilà – there you go!

Seriously, I was not kidding when I say that we devoured this dish! It was sooo incredibly flavorful and satisfying and all the ingredients worked together in such great harmony. I cannot think of a reason for why you should not make this – it is just way too delicious!! In case you try this (which you should), I would love to hear how you like it, so feel free to leave a comment or text me on Instagram!

Print

The Ultimate (vegetarian) Bánh Mi Recipe Anyone Will Love (vegan options)

Step away from your regular sandwich game and take it next level! Crispy baguette filled with spicy, tangy mayo, super flavorful tofu, crunchy pickles and fresh herbs. Every bite is an explosion of flavor in your mouth – plus it is super easy to make!! No excuses not to make it!

Course lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Vietnamese
Prep Time 20 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 2 servings

What you will need

  • 1 baguette
  • 2 tbsp mayo
  • 1 tsp sriracha (or more if you wish)
  • 4 tbsp greek yoghurt
  • 1 cucumber
  • cilantro & mint

For the tofu:

  • 200 g tofu
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp (vegan) fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 lime
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 thumb-sized piece ginger

Pickles:

  • 1 carrot
  • 1/2 radish
  • 50 ml white wine vinegar
  • 50 ml rice vinegar
  • 50 ml water
  • 1 tsp sugar

How to

  1. To marinate the tofu, finely grate or chop the ginger and garlic and mix with the soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and lime juice. Cut the tofu into about 1/2cm thick and 3x4cm wide pieces, cover in the marinade and let sit for up to 3-4 hours (it also works if you only let them sit for an hour). The longer, the better.

  2. To make the pickles peel carrot and radish and cut into thin sticks. Bring the vinegars, water and sugar to a pot and bring to a boil. Place the carrot and radish in a jar and cover with the vinegar. Let sit for as long as possible – the longer the better.

  3. Once ready to prepare the rest, cut the baguette in two pieces and then cut them in half lengthwise (if you do not cut them through, it is easier to eat them). mix the mayo, greek yoghurt and sriracha and spread the bread with it. Next add the pickles.

  4. Remove the tofu from the marinade and fry it in hot oil for about 2-3 minutes on each side, turn down the heat to medium and pour the remaining sauce over the tofu and let it cook in.

  5. Add the tofu on top of the pickles, next the cucumber and then the herbs. Close the sandwich and enjoy!!

Have fun cooking & enjoy!
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

The Ultimate Pesto & Hummus Picnic Sandwich w/ Grilled Halloumi

by Kommentar verfassen

Sandwiches ALWAYS are a win. There is no way you could go wrong with some good bread, a delicious spread and cheese in-between, right? Good to agree on that! And this sandwich – let me just tell you – is next level. It is not you average lunch sandwich, it is not your average grilled cheese, it is not your average hummus bread. It is next level, everything else than average.

You have some delicious, fluffy bread, creamy, tangy hummus, salty and indulgent pesto, fresh greens and tomatoes, salty and ultra-delicious grilled halloumi and rich avocado. NO way you do not like this. And you know what’s the best part about this? It is so easy to make. literally easier than scrambled eggs on toast.

What’s special about this dish?

By now you probably know that this is not your average sandwich. Here we have a combination that you do not get anywhere else. Hummus from the orient, pesto from Italy, Halloumi from Cyprus and delicious, perfect bread from Austria. And although all ingredients come from so many different places, they work in such perfect harmony together. They do all have a slight mediterranean touch, which makes the combination taste amazing.

And, this recipe is part of the NENI x UPC picnic series. Meaning, this recipe tastes best with the NENI hummus and is perfect to be taken on a picnic. Obviously, you could also eat it at home, for lunch, breakfast, dinner or brunch or any other time of the day you like.

Is this sandwich healthy?

I would definitely say it’s very nutritious. So let’s start at the very bottom layer; the bread. The bread is loaded with carbs and fibre and will not only keep your soul healthy but it’ll also keep you full of energy and full for a while. Next we have the hummus. It is full of fibre and protein and also healthy fats. Next up the pesto. Well, first of all it is loaded with a whole bunch of deliciousness. The salty- and tangyness are just a real dream. Yet, it also is beneficial nutrient-wise. The nuts and oil account for a decent amount of healthy fats and togetehr with the parmesan cheese for a healthy amount of protein too.

What do we have left now? The veggies – tomatoes and green – to provide you all the minerals, vitamins & fibre in order for you to stay full and happy and the halloumi. The halloumi is a source of protein but more than that a source of deliciousness. Lastly, avocados are a great way to get in some more healthy omega-3 fats. All in all, it definitely is nutritious!

How to make this dish?

As already mentioned – it’s as easy as scrambling eggs. All you need to do it slice up the halloumi and add it to a hot pan to fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Then we only spread the bread with hummus & pesto, add the sliced tomatoes and a few greens, the grilled halloumi, some sliced avo and the second hummused (can hummused please be a word – like buttered just with hummus?) bread on top. Voilà!

Picnic friendly

If just left like that it may very well result in a mess when eating it. So we can take some steps to prevent this from happening. This best works if we cut up some parchment paper (like 4-5cm thick) and wrap it tightly around the sandwich. To fix this, we can wrap a string around it and make a knot. This way it is tightly packed together and does not fall apart when eating.

All in all it needs to be said, that this is an incredibly delicious and easy to make dish and a real MUST for every picnic! Everyone who has tried it so far LOVES it – so I am convinced you’ll do the same 🙂 I really hope this helps you enjoy the weather a bit more and to make use of all those sunny days!

Print

The Ultimate Pesto & Hummus Picnic Sandwich w/ Grilled Halloumi

Definitely not your average sandwich – much much better than that. The creamy hummus just pairs perfectly with the tangy pesto, the crispy bread and the salty halloumi. All in all – a dream

Course brunch, lunch, picnic
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 5 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten
Servings 4 sandwiches

What you will need

  • 8 slices bread
  • 8 tbsp hummus
  • 4 tbsp pesto
  • 250 g halloumi cheese
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 4 handful greens
  • 1 avocado

How to

  1. slice up the halloumi lengthwise and add it to a cold pan. Heat up and fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Slice up tomatoes and avocado.

  2. In the meantime spread the slices of bread with the hummus. Top with the greens, the tomatoes, then the halloumi, the pesto, the avocado, some sea salt and another slice of bread with hummus on the inside. Enjoy!

Have fun cooking,
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

The meanest green sandwich with grilled halloumi and lemon spinach

by 2 Kommentare

Who doesn’t love a good sandwich? And not just a good one but a really delicious and healthy one. Marinated lemon tomato spinach paired with pesto, avocado and perfectly grilled and soft halloumi. Every single bite is a pleasure. 

Sandwiches are truly one of the best meals you can have. I mean, they consist of bread, and who does not love bread? And you can fill them with whatever you like!! Pretty genius to be honest. But really, today we are not going to make a basic boring sandwich. We are going to make a next level sandwich that makes your mouth water and still is ready in 15 minutes! 

What is special about this dish?

It is the unusual fillings if the sandwich! How often is the bread just spread with butter or mayonnaise and topped with ham and cheese? Way too often in my opinion. Not only, that it really is not healthy, but kind of boring right? In this sandwich we have an incredibly delicious combination of incredibly delicious marinated spinach that is tossed in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, dried tomatoes and chili flakes, some delicious creamy avocado, a gentle spread of pesto, and let’s not forget about the star of the show, the soft halloumi. If you have never had the combination of avocado and halloumi, then now it’s high time.

Are sandwiches healthy and how to make them healthy

There definitely is no yes or no answer to this question. This really depends SO much on what the sandwich is made out of. If you have some white toast with butter, cheese and ham, then no, it is not healthy. There is no fiber but lots and lots of fats in it. But if you make one like this, it is fair to say that it is healthy. You have got nutrients and vitamins from the spinach, healthy fats and vitamins from the avocado, and a bunch of fibre and complex carbohydrates from the whole grain bread. The halloumi is nit super duper healthy but it is super delicious and the combination is what makes it. The sandwich is very well balanced out with healthy ingredients such as spinach and also deliciousness as the halloumi. 

But how can you make a healthy sandwich? With very easy changes, you can get a big difference in the nutritional value. It already starts with the bread. Instead of white toast, you can long for whole grain bread. More fiber and more complex carbs which will provide more nutritional value and will keep you full for longer. Then it comes to the spread. Instead of using butter, you can long for avocado, pesto or hummus for example. They all are loaded with unsaturated fats and are a healthier choice over butter. 

Then, what I always love to do is adding some kind of veggies. You can do some salad, like in this sandwich, or you can also do something else like cucumber, bell peppers, radishes or whatever you like! And for me, personally I always like to have something to be kind of the „star of the show“. So something kn the middle that really fills the sandwich and makes it taste amazing. This could be halloumi, scrambled eggs, smoked or pan fried tofu, smashed chickpeas or anything else to your desire. 

How to make this sandwich:

This is truly simple. First you need to marinate the spinach. For that you just need to combine the oil, tomatoes, lemon juice and chili flakes. Next you need to toast the bread. This is not obligatory but crispy bread just tastes better in my opinion. Next, you need ti spread the pesto on both sides. This way the bread will not taste dry and it adds a bunch of flavor. Now, we need to pan fry the halloumi. For this just add the halloumi to a pan and heat it up. And then it already is down to being assembled. Yep it is that easy! 

I really love this sandwich as a brunch, a quick lunch or an easy but still fancy dinner! It is packed with so much flavor, pretty healthy and incredibly delicious while it still is super easy to make! 

I hope you like this recipe as much as I do and will make it ok repeat! 

Print

Meanest Greenest Sandwich with Lemon Chili Spinach and Grilled Halloumi

a delicious, easy and healthy sandwich that is ready in basically no time! Perfect dor meal prep or as a quick lunch!

Course Breakfast, brunch, lunch
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 5 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 2 Sandwiches
Calories 413 kcal

What you will need

  • 4 slices Whole grain bread
  • 1/2 Avocado
  • 125 G Halloumi
  • 2 Handful Spinach
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 Tbsp Chopped dried tomatoes
  • 1 Tsp Chili flakes
  • 1/2 Lemon juiced
  • 2 Tbsp basil pesto

How to

  1. Combine the olive oil, chopped dried tomatoes, chili flakes and lemon juice in a bowl. Add it to the spinach and mix to combine. Let sit to marinate for about 10 minutes.

  2. Toast the slices of whole grain bread. Slice up the avocado. Heat up a pan and add the halloumi. Fry for about 2-4 minutes on each side.

  3. Spread the pesto on one side of every bread. Add the spinach on top, followed by the halloumi, the sliced avocado and close with the second slice of bread!

  4. Serve and enjoy!

Happy cooking, 

Enjoy,

Katie

Open Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

by Kommentar verfassen

I love having savory breakfasts! I like them much more than sweet ones. You might not know because I mostly post sweet breakfast recipes, but that’s because I mostly share plant based ones and I think it is so hard to make vegan savory breakfasts. But since I try to include more plants into my diet, K decided to share a vegan breakfast dish that is savory, especially for all those without a sweet tooth. We do not have to miss out on savory stuff when we want to eat vegan from time to time.

The thing, that I think is most difficult, when not including animal products into your breakfast, is not eating eggs. I absolutely love eggs and think there is nothing better than an avocado toast with poached eggs but sometimes I just like to switch it up. I got inspired to create this dish when I ate at a restaurant in Vienna, which is called Karmafood, that is mostly plant based/ vegetarian. I had a vegan breakfast sandwich and it was soooo good, so I decided to try to recreate it.

At first I thought „mushrooms for breakfast“? Wait, no way! I can’t do that! But it actually is super delicious! It is not like soggy mushrooms, it just tastes really good in the combination with all of the other ingredients. So let me tell you what this sandwich (or topped bread) is made of:

We start out by roasting a sourdough bread. You can use a white bread, but I like to use a mixed one, which is partially whole wheat and partially not. If you want, you can also use a whole grain bread or if opting for a gluten free version, use sweet potato toasts! This really is up to you! We toast that bread in a toaster, because crispy bread is just way better! If you want to be super fancy, you can butter or spread margarine on both sides and toast it in a pan. This adds extra flavor but is a little more work! 

Once we have our bread, we can continue with the rest. Next comes hummus. I like to use curry hummus, just because I really like it, but normal one works just as good. So we spread a thick layer of that. Next up are some greens. I like to use mixed greens, but if you prefer to stick to one kind, that works. You see this is really versatile! The greens in here do not radically change the flavor but add a lot of vitamins! So it’s great! We continue to add even more greens, this time in form of avocado. Because… what would a breakfast sandwich be without avocado? Well, not a good one at least! 

So now we have the base. We continue to add more vegetables. Next up: cherry tomatoes. I like the touch of color and flavor they add! Sautéeing them helps to not let them taste super different from the rest but it helps them to work in a harmony with the other ingredients! Ok top, now only go mushrooms. I would recommend to use shiitake mushrooms, because they are pretty big.you can also use other ones if you prefer, just make sure that they are pretty big. On top only goes another dollop of hummus, and a drizzle of hot sauce, if you like. I live it spicy, so for me it always is a must! 

I love making this for a quick breakfast, because wir literally comes together in like 10 minutes. You can also serve it for brunch or make a cute buffet with all the different things and people can build their own ones! I hope this gives you some inspiration for savory, plant based breakfast ideas! Let me know if you like it and if you decide to recreate it be sure to tag me with @uneptcusiniere or with #unepetitecuisiniere !

Enjoy,
Katie

Print

Open Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

An ideal breakfast for all those who want to eat more plant based but still stay savory. Super delicious and simple.

Course Breakfast, brunch, dinner
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 2 servings
Calories 239 kcal

What you will need

  • 2 slices bread you can use whichever you want; sourdough, white, whole wheat, whatever
  • 4 tbsp hummus
  • 1 handful greens
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 5-6 shiitake mushrooms
  • 12 cherry tomatoes
  • some sprouts, more hummus and hot sauce for topping (optional)

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Toast the two slices of bread in the toaster.

  2. Meanwhile heat up the oil in a pan. Remove the stems of the mushroom. Once hot, add the mushrooms and sauté them for about 3 minutes on each side until soft. Remove them and add the cherry tomatoes in. Let them soften for about 2-3 minutes.

  3. Meanwhile, remove the bread from the toaster. Generously spread the hummus. Add the greens on top. Slice up the avocado and layer the slices on top of the greens. Take the mushrooms and add them in top along with the sauteed cherry tomatoes.

  4. Finish it up with another dollop of hummus, some sprouts and hot sauce if wished!

  5. Serve and enjoy!