Vegetarian Cuban Sandwich
This is one of my favorite comfort foods but as a vegetarian, I wanted to figure out a way to make a plant-based one. I used real cheese, but you could easily substitute vegan cheese if you want, which makes the recipe vegan.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 loaves of Cuban bread (my vegetarian version is here)
- 2 packages of oven-roasted Tofurky
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- Pinch salt
- Dash liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cans of young jackfruit
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 packet sazón
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 cup sour orange juice (or the juice from 2 oranges, half a lemon, and one lime)
- 8 dill pickle slices
- 8 slices of Swiss cheese, cut into triangles
- Yellow mustard
- Butter
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- Oven, on broiler setting
- Large skillet, with lid
- Potato masher
- Sandwich press, or a griddle and a heavy cast iron pan
Instructions
- Combine maple syrup, salt, brown sugar, and liquid smoke in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Brush maple syrup mixture on the Tofurky slices and place under a broiler for 1-2 minutes
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add onions and garlic. Season with salt and sauté until softened.
- Add jackfruit, sazón, oregano, and sour orange juice (or the orange, lemon, and lime juice). Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until jackfruit has softened.
- Using a potato masher, mash the jackfruit until it resembles the texture of pulled pork. Cover and simmer for 20 additional minutes.
- To assemble the sandwich, cut a loaf of Cuban bread in half and cut off the rounded end. Add pickles, jackfruit "pork," Tofurky "ham," Swiss cheese, and mustard.
- Preheat the griddle to medium heat. Add a pat of butter when it's hot. (Or use a sandwich press!)
- If using a griddle, toast each side for 2-3 minutes on each side, using a heavy cast iron pan to compress the sandwich.
- Cut diagonally and enjoy!
