Meet the most busy French dip sandwich, but hold the beef

For several of my years of training, my family suffered from my father’s hippie vegetarian phases. Before judging me too severely for criticizing my father’s kitchen attempts, consider that it was the 80s and 90s, when plant-based diets were not as widespread in the United States as today. My father’s culinary skills were also … limited. Meals were generally a sad mixture of overcooked brown rice, steamed vegetables and a few dispersed cashew nuts. But while these dinners did not win me at that time, they planted a seed. Years later, after a few flirtations during vegetarianism, I came to see vegetables not only like sides, but as the heart of a meal.

This is why I like this sandwich with a vegetarian dip. He does not try to imitate the original classic, with his beef finely in slices and his rich juice. Instead, it is his own thing – a deeply salty and satisfactory sandwich that happens to be without meat. Mushroom enthusiasts and omnivores buttocks will be in it.

How to build a deeply tasty flavor without meat

The success of this sandwich begins with the right mushrooms – the use of a combination of mushrooms gives the complexity of the sandwich in terms of flavor and texture. The fleshy and trenched Portobellos are first seized in a hot pan until they are deeply golden. After that, you superimpose a variety of tasty mushrooms – Crememi, oyster, shiitake, trumpet, even beech if you have them. The key is to operate in small lots so that the mushrooms are colliding, rather than steam. Overcrowding = soggy mushrooms, and no one wants that. The appropriate browning strengthens the flavor and gives mushrooms a juicy and soft bite.

To further amplify the depth of the flavor and punch Umami, I add rehydrated dried pig mushrooms. Soak them in hot water until it is softened, then chop and set aside. Do not throw this soaking liquid – it is liquid gold and becomes the backbone of your juice.

A rich vegetarian rifing that competes with the original

From there, it is a question of building layers of flavor for the sauce. Once the golden mushrooms are golden, aromatics such as onions, garlic and fresh thyme are added to the pan. A spoonful of tomato paste adds even more umami and gives the body of the sauce. Then, it is a question of deglassing: I prefer the dry vermouth for its grass edge and slightly agructor, but the dry white wine works as well. Stir in the soaking liquid of reserved pigs (this contains a lot of flavor) and your favorite vegetable or mushroom broth, and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.

What you find with an intensely tasty and velvety juice – perfect for soaking. It is rich without being heavy and superimposed with earthy, herbaceous and almost fleshy flavors.

Advice to assemble the perfect sandwich

The assembly of this sandwich is very similar to a traditional French dip: use good quality French or hoagies and toaste slightly before filling. Then stack the mixture of mushrooms with pliers or a slit spoon (you want the garnish, not the liquid here). Garnish with acute Provolone slices or Swiss cheese, then toast until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve the juice remaining in small bowls on the side, and you have a sandwich that offers all the comfortable pleasure and Diclais of the classic – no required beef.

I want this sandwich to be on the table during these first vegetarian years. It is generous, cheesy and satisfactory, with a rich flavor and a lot of texture contrast. And even if it is meatless, it does not have the impression that it lacks anything. If you dream of a French dip but want to keep it vegetarian – or just want a more beautiful version from time to time – it offers.

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