vegan cubano sandwich

Preheat the oven at 350°F.

To make the seitan, in a large bowl add vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, onion powder, sea salt, celery salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder, dried thyme, dried oregano, dried basil, ground mustard and ground pepper.

In a separate bowl add your stock, vegetable oil, soy sauce or tamari, apple cider vinegar and tomato paste. Whisk to make sure it’s well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until a dough forms.

Knead the dough on a clean surface, folding the dough over itself several times so you can feel the gluten forming. Form the dough into a rectangular log about 3.5 x 5-inches. Transfer the dough onto a large piece of heavy duty foil on a baking sheet. Tightly wrap the log and twist the ends. You may need 2 sheets of foil to make sure it’s covered completely and there are no tears in the foil.

Bake for 90 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating overnight. To use, slice thinly with a knife or on a mandolin.

To make the vegan roast palm ‘pork’, take the drained hearts of palm and using your hands, pull the hearts of palm into thin shredded pieces about ⅛ to ¼-inch thick. Then add liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce or tamari, brown sugar, granulated garlic powder, chili flakes, smoked paprika and sea salt. Toss to coat all the pieces evenly.

Heat up a cast iron pan or a non-stick pan over medium heat. You may need to pan fry the hearts of palm mixture in 2 batches. Add some vegetable oil and the hearts of palm mixture. Pan fry for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly charred in places and warmed through. Set aside.

To assemble your sandwiches, spread 1 tablespoon of vegan mayonnaise on the bottom of the french roll, then add about 80 g of sliced seitan, some vegan roast palm ‘pork’, pickle slices, 2 slices of vegan cheese and spread some yellow mustard on the top half of the french roll.

To grill your sandwiches, put 1 teaspoon of vegan butter in a cast iron grill pan set to medium-high heat. Place 2 sandwiches onto the grill pan and weigh down the top. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until the tops have golden grill marks and the cheese is melted. Add more butter when flipping the sandwiches and turn down the heat slightly if needed. Repeat with the last batch of sandwiches. Slice sandwiches in half and serve immediately!