Sweet Potato and Avocado Reuben Sandwich

I’m always looking for new lunch recipes for us. Lunch, a lot like breakfast, can quickly become monotonous if we’re not careful.

A bit like when I used to eat the same two lunches every day all year when I worked in an office. My co-workers used to laugh at me, but hey – when I like something, I like it, ok?

Usually our lunch consists of some kind of hummus or falafel combination, but every now and then we try and make some yummy sandwiches or grilled cheese. That was how we ended up here, munching on sweet potato and avocado reuben sandwiches.Now that we’re 99% vegetarian these days, a reuben sandwich is something I never thought I’d be chowing down on again. But when I spotted a recipe for vegan reubens on the PETA website, I was intrigued.

Instead of just making a reuben with avocado and sauerkraut, Scott had the idea that we should combine it with the sandwich from a place called Primanti Bros in Pittsburgh, which famously put French fries on their sandwiches. Thus, the sweet potato French fry idea was born.

And I couldn’t have been more happy with the result. This is a seriously delicious sandwich that combines that tanginess of the sauerkraut and the sharpness of the mustard with the sweet Thousand Island dressing, warm sweet potatoes and creamy avocado. As a side note: the measurements for the dressing and the mustard are there as a guideline – feel free to add as much or as little as you want depending on your taste.

Just try it. You (probably) won’t even want to go back to your original style reuben.

Sweet Potato and Avocado Reuben Sandwich

Recipe by Julia

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato, cut into thick matchsticks

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 4 slices fresh-sliced crusty bread (I used rye)

• 1 knob unsalted butter

• 1 ripe avocado, sliced

• 1 cup sauerkraut

• 2 tbsp Thousand Island dressing

• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Directions

• Preheat oven to 200F / 400C. Line a baking tray with foil and spread the sweet potato across it. Drizzle over the olive oil and a little salt and pepper to season, then toss the sweet potato fries around a little to ensure they’re coated on all sides. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until soft and browned.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a heavy-based frying pan or griddle pan on a medium heat and toast the bread in it, turning over once the first side is golden brown.
• Spread the mustard on one side of two slices of toast and the Thousand Island dressing on one side of the remaining two slices (so that each sandwich will have one slice of mustard and one slice of Thousand Island inside each).
• Top the mustard side with the sauerkraut, divided between each sandwich, and then the sliced avocado. Finally, place the sweet potato fries on top and close the sandwich with the Thousand Island slice face down on top. Serve straight away.