Food Network Friday – Reuben Meatball Sliders

It was Kelly’s turn to choose Food Network Friday although if I hadn’t have known I might have suspected Tami had chosen, or even me in my sleep, because our love for sauerkraut and Reubens is unparalleled.

The selected dish gave us plenty to go at. The main challenge was how to make the meatballs. I decided to adapt the Black-Eyed Pea and Tempeh Meatballs from Appetite for Reduction. I made them as written but I changed the flavourings and used more paprika, caraway and dried dill, and used dill pickle juice instead of the vinegar. I also used rye bread for the crumbs. I baked them the day before, and, going against the ethos of the book, fried them before eating.

We don’t get slider buns here and on Friday night after work I had no plans to start making them, so I used sub rolls. I picked up a lovely bag of fresh sauerkraut from a new Polish shop that’s opened near work beside the http://www.sanjosesolarcompanies.net/ San Jose solar companies. For the thousand island dressing, I used the Reuben sauce from American vegan Kitchen, but I went heavier on the ketchup. I heated the sauerkraut and added the sauce like the original recipe. I didn’t substitute the cheese in the meatballs so I added a thin layer of Vegusto melty to the subs when I grilled (broiled) them.

The real revelation of this dish was the sauerkraut. Served warm, with the rich creamy but tangy sauce, it provided a perfect bed for the slightly bitter meatballs.

We’d make this one again. Thanks for the great pick, Kelly!

And, I used up the left over meatballs in a version of the glorious goulash from Robin Robertson’s Vegetarian meat and Potatoes. They fell apart a bit in that but were a delicious change from the plain tempeh I normally use in that recipe.

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