Thanksgiving Leftover Veggie Burger Loaf Sandwich

Here’s my final offering. If that photo doesn’t get you excited for Thanksgiving’s leftovers parade—whether you start repurposing all those odds and ends later on Thursday eve, or can manage to wait until lunch on Friday—then I give up. When I had my “friendsgiving” with my tostone-expert friend Lesley last night, we ate this incredibly easy and very satisfying Massaged Kale salad, recipe below, as a side. That went on the sandwich, of course, since the idea behind Thanksgiving leftovers is that you just combine them all in one form or another. Tomorrow’s holiday cannot come soon enough. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Veggie Burger Loaf Sandwich

Makes 1 sandwich

2 slices of your favorite sandwich bread
A snappy, tart apple
Dijon mustard
1 thick slice of leftover Holiday Veggie Burger Loaf, reheated
A few spoonfuls of leftover Shallot Gravy (recipe with the veggie burger loaf), reheated
Handful Massaged Kale Salad, recipe below

1. Toast the bread. Carefully slice 4 or 5 thin discs from the apple.

2. Slather one piece of bread with the mustard, then top with a layer of the apple slices. Place the veggie loaf on the apples. Ladle some gravy over, then add a little pile of the kale salad. Place the second slice of bread on top, slice the sandwich in half, and devour.

Massaged Kale Salad

Serves 4 or 5

1 clove garlic
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 bunch Tuscan kale, destemmed and cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Place the garlic on a cutting board, smash with the flat part of a chef’s knife, and roughly chop. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of the salt over it, then begin smashing and mincing the garlic until you have a paste. Place this in a mixing bowl. Add the kale and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and literally massage the kale: rub it, grab it, squeeze it until it collapses (the salt encourages the kale to break down), which will take a minute or two. Give the greens a squeeze to extract some of the liquid and discard it (the liquid is quite bitter). Add the remaining ingredients to the salad, taste for seasonings, and serve cold or at room temperature.