Lunchopolis #57
A vegan ham salad and lettuce sandwich (ham salad from The Booming Platter), grapes, Greek orzo salad, and blackberries.
I made this ham salad slightly differently than indicated in the original recipe because I didn't have any thyme on hand and I substituted dill pickle relish for the sweet pickle (just because it was what I had on hand). It was really good--not quite ham salad, but it hits many of the same notes, and the point is that I now have yet another really good vegan sandwich filling. The smoked almonds really add a lot of good flavor to this.
I tried adding some pickled beet juice to this to make it pink, like ham salad, but it turned the wrong color pink and just looked weird. It tasted fine, but I decided to go with this as it was, even if it did match the bread too well. I added romaine lettuce instead to visually break up all that off-white/beige color, and it was the perfect addition in terms of texture, too.
Basically, I am saying, even if you never ate ham salad, or ham, or anything close to it, I recommend trying out this vegan ham salad. It's so smoky and comforting.
That orzo salad looks incredible!! I love greek flavors, I will have to see if I can figure out a way to make it to fit my new way of eating. The sandwich looks yummy and I love pairing my savory meals with fruit. It is so refreshing.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Gluten free, no nightshades, right? I wonder if it would work as a rice salad? You could double the onions and leave out the peppers to sub for those, and I don't think it would suffer too much without the tomatoes. I might add some carrots, quartered and thinly sliced, for a bit of sweetness and color.
DeleteLooks like another great lunch; I've never had ham salad before, but it sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteHam salad is a pretty region-specific food, I think? I've been surprised by how many people in the northeast have never encountered it. Wikipedia says it's mostly eaten in the American south and midwest.
DeleteI don't think I have ever had ham salad before, but it sounds like a great sandwich filling with the tofu and the almonds.
ReplyDeleteDill pickle >> all other pickles.
Dill pickle, indeed, is superior! But I worried a little that some of the herbs would clash with the substitution. Fortunately it all seemed to work well.
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