Ever since my brothers and I were children, my mom made these sandwiches from time to time for us, which we loved. A  platter full would be gone in no time at all. I have adapted them, using gluten free, or wheat free bread, vegan cheese instead of butter and vegan mayonnaise on top. If you are not strictly vegan a piece of boiled egg can be added. They are also great for cocktail parties or as starters instead of salads.

Play around with various vegetables, but this is how we typically create these little bite sized sandwiches:

Ingredients

• Square loaf of any wheat free or gluten free bread, sliced
• Vegan cheese – see recipe below (or use the vegan dip as spread – recipe on this blog)
• Vegan salad mayonnaise (I buy it ready made, but you find various recipes in cook books like Rawlicious, Recipes from our Organic Garden by Antonia De Luca, Mary-Ann’s Cookbooks and many others)
• Peas, shelled or frozen (defrost by letting them stand in some water for a few minutes)
• Raw mushrooms, thinly sliced
• Carrots, thinly sliced
• Tomatoes, sliced and cut into small pieces
• Green, red or yellow peppers, or a mix of all three – chopped into small pieces
• Basil leaves – one for each little sandwich, and/or some pieces of rocket
• Onions, thinly sliced
• Chopped chives
• Cucumber, thinly sliced and quartered
• Boiled eggs, sliced & quartered – 0ptional
• Herbal salt

Method

1. prepare all the vegetables and place in individual bowls in a row
2. spread the bread slices with the vegan cheese or vegan dip
3. quarter the bread slices and arrange on a serving platter
4. place one of each of the prepared vegetable pieces on each of the sandwiches
5. top with a small dollop of the vegan mayonnaise
6. sprinkle with chives and herbal salt

Vegan Cheese

Ingredients

• 3 cups cashew or macadamia nuts, or a mixture of both
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/8 small onion
• Himalaya Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• optional – add any of the following: garlic, fresh or dried herbs, chilli, caraway seeds, paprika, black pepper …
• optional – 4 probiotic capsules

Method

1. Blend everything together in a power blender until completely smooth.
2. If using probiotic capsules, empty capsules into mixture and blend with rest of ingredients.
3. Divide up into small jars. Store one in the fridge (keeps up to 2 weeks) and freeze the rest.
4. Use for sandwiches, pizzas, as a dip, to drizzle over salads, lightly steamed vegetables etc.

Note: Probiotics are effective immune boosters and are essential for good digestion. They also pre-digest the nuts for better absorption.