No Beef Manhattan

Ahhhh….Beef Manhattans ….. or simply call it – Hoosier comfort food at its best!  

I know…. it’s an Indiana thing.  

But I can’t tell you how many of these I ate as a kid growing up in Indianapolis.

Never heard of it?

A Beef Manhattan is basically a roast beef sandwich, cut corner to corner with a big scoop of mashed potatoes in the middle, and then completely smothered in brown gravy.

Uh…..yum!?

Wikipedia even has an entry for it:

The dish was first served under the name “Beef Manhattan” in a now defunct Indianapolis deli in the late 1940s where it gained traction as a Hoosier staple. In Indiana, it is served on bread. The roast beef is sliced and put on bread like a sandwich, then cut corner to corner and plated in a V shape. Mashed potatoes are served between the two halves, and the whole is covered in gravy.

Yumminess on a plate, that’s what Beef Manhattans were, and a big part of my childhood.

Hmmm….I sense a recipe coming.

No Beef Manhattan

Yesterday as I was rummaging around in my fridge looking for something yummy to eat, I spied a container of my awesome Vegan Gravy, and some leftover mashed potatoes and I instantly thought of beef manhattans.

But now that I’m a brand new vegan – what would I use to replace the roast beef?

All I had to do was open up the freezer, and there it was.  A bag of frozen vegetables, specifically another Hoosier favorite, a bag of peas, corn, and carrots.

I whipped those bad boys into the microwave, made myself a ‘veggie sandwich’, scooped in the mashed taters, and smothered the whole thing in gravy.

Bam.

I just created a No Beef Manhattan.

And it was AWESOME!!!

(Note:  You can use any sandwich filling you like, not just veggies.   My Meatlovers Seitan Metaloaf, for example, would be really good on a sandwich.  Anything that tastes good covered in gravy will do. )

Warm, starchy, filling, and full of creamy gravy goodness.  That’s what I’m talking about.  And I never missed the roast beef – at all.

This is a great recipe for using up leftovers, so give it a try.

You can find that recipe for my amazing Vegan Gravy right here!

You don’t have to be from Indiana to enjoy it, but if you DO find yourself humming “Back Home Again in Indiana”….well……..Jim Nabors would be proud.  🙂

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