Ribbon Sandwiches

These colorful finger sandwiches are a great finger food for any occasion. Completely plant-based, made with delicious and healthy veggie rainbow fillings using spinach, beetroot, carrots and a homemade cashew mayonnaise. Check out this simple recipe below and give it a try!

INGREDIENTS

Spinach filling

• 570 g baby spinach
• 20 g parsley top stems and mostly leaves
• 2 green chili peppers or 1 serrano pepper (optional)
• sea salt pepper or to taste
• ¼ cup cashew sauce made with the NutraMilk

Carrot filling

• 350 g baby carrots or whole carrots
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp ground coriander or cumin
• sea salt & pepper to taste
• ¼ cup cashew sauce made with the NutraMilk

Beetroot filling

• 350 g beetroot
• ½ tsp crushed chili flakes adjust to your taste, I like to add 1 ½ tsp because I prefer it spicy
• ½ green chili or red chili pepper (optional)
• ½ tsp ground coriander or cumin
• sea salt & pepper to taste
• ¼ cup cashew butter sauce made with the NutraMilk

Cashew butter sauce

• 2 cups (300g) cashews
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Water for desired consistency       

Sandwiches

• slices soft whole grain sandwich bread or any bread of choice 

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place cashews and salt in the NutraMilk container.
• Press Butter cycle, set for 5-6 minutes.
• Press Start.
• Open the container lid.
• Add rest of sauce ingredients. Start with 2 tbsp. of water and see what consistency get- add more for a more liquid consistency. You want it to be a spreadable texture but not too thick, like mayonnaise, more or less.
• If necessary, set for an additional 1-2 minutes for a creamier butter. 

• To steam the vegetables, you will need a large pot with a capacity to hold a steamer basket with the lid on.
• Pour about 1 – 2 inches of water to the bottom of the pot and bring it to a simmer, with the lid on.
• Add the baby spinach and let it steam for a few minutes until the spinach has just wilted and softened.
• Remove the steamer basket from the pot and place the steamed spinach in a bowl, and let it cool completely.
• Once cooled, squeeze the spinach to remove as much water as possible. You can squeeze a little at a time in your hands OR place the spinach in a cheesecloth and squeeze the water out.
• Let it cool and then squeeze out the water in the same manner.
• Place the spinach and the rest filling ingredients in the NutraMilk or use a hand blender and process until well-combined. Set aside.

• The baby carrots can be steamed as they are, but if you're using larger carrots, you can cut them into smaller pieces.
• Steam the carrots in a steamer basket for 15 – 20 minutes, OR until the carrots are fork-tender (the fork should go through very easily). Top up the pot with water as needed while steaming.
• Remove the carrots from the basket and let them cool down on a paper towel or kitchen napkin. Do not cover the carrots, since you want as much of the water to evaporate as it cools down.
• Place the steamed and cooled carrots in a the NutraMilk, along the rest of filling ingredients and process until well-combined. Set aside.

• Slice off the tops of the beetroots and then steam them the same way as the carrots.
• Remove the beetroots from the steamer basket and let them cool down on a paper towel or kitchen napkin until cooled to room temperature. PLEASE NOTE that beetroots do stain, so use a napkin or towel that you do not mind being stained.
• Once cooled down, you can peel off the beetroot skin with your fingers as it should just come off easily.
• Place the steamed, cooled, and peeled beets in the NutraMilk, along with the rest of filling ingredients and process until well-combined. Set aside.

• Take four slices of bread and lay them out on your work surface.
• Spread a thin layer of the carrot butter filling on one slice.
• Spread a thin layer of the spinach butter filling on another slice.
• Finally, spread a thin layer of the beet butter filling on the third slice.
• Stack these three slices of bread on top of each other, along with the fourth slice on top
• You can stack them in any order you like in terms of the fillings. The filling shouldn’t be too thick, just an even layer that is visible when the sandwich is cut (as you can see in the pictures in the post).
• With a sharp knife, slice off the crusts to make a square sandwich. Cut this sandwich into four smaller sandwiches. This can be either 4 square sandwiches, 4 triangles, OR you can cut the sandwich lengthwise to make 4 finger sandwiches.
• Repeat with all the slices of bread.

• The sandwiches can now be served right away.
• To store them for later (or leftovers), place the sandwiches in an air-tight container. Make sure the lid is not squishing the sandwiches.
• Store the sandwiches for up to 4 days in the fridge. 

Prepared and photographed by NutraMilk nutritionist, Florencia Tagliavini.

Recipe inspired by The Flavor Bender.