Lion's Mane Harissa Sandwich

Steps

1. 1

   Prepare the vegetables for the harissa. Roast or smoke the three red chili peppers, red bell pepper, and garlic bulb until soft. Before roasting the garlic, cut off the top of the whole bulb to expose the cloves slightly, drizzle with a small amount of avocado oil, and season with salt and pepper. Do not peel the garlic before roasting.

2. 2

   While the vegetables roast, clean the lion's mane mushroom and pull it apart into small, bite-size pieces.

3. 3

   Prepare the wet batter base. In one bowl, combine the oat milk and vegetable bouillon. In a separate bowl, combine the spelt flour, paprika, and chili powder for the wet batter.

4. 4

   Pour the oat milk mixture into the bowl of seasoned flour. Stir until a smooth, cohesive batter forms, then set it aside.

5. 5

   Prepare the dry batter by combining the panko bread crumbs, spelt flour, chili powder, minced onion, minced garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in a separate bowl. Mix evenly and set aside.

6. 6

   Make the harissa sauce. Once the roasted peppers and garlic are soft, remove the stems from the peppers and squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Add them to a food processor or high-powered blender with the tomato paste, chili powder, paprika, avocado oil, vegetable broth, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, optional cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste.

7. 7

   Blend the harissa ingredients until creamy and smooth. The pepper seeds may be left in for a hotter sauce or removed for a milder sauce.

8. 8

   Prepare the sandwich components by washing and slicing the lettuce or arugula, purple bell pepper, and red onion. Split the buns and toast their cut sides on a skillet or stovetop until lightly crisp and golden, if desired.

9. 9

   Coat the mushroom pieces one at a time. Dip each lion's mane piece first into the wet batter, allowing excess batter to drip off, and then into the dry batter, pressing gently so the panko mixture adheres on all sides.

10. 10

    Cook the coated mushroom bites at 370°F (190 °C) (188°C (375 °F)). For deep-frying, fry them in hot grapeseed oil until crisp and golden. For air-frying, lightly spray the coated pieces with avocado or grapeseed oil before cooking, and air-fry at 370°F (190 °C) until crisp and browned, turning as needed for even cooking.

11. 11

    Coat the cooked lion's mane bites with harissa by brushing the sauce over them or quickly tossing the bites with the sauce in a bowl.

12. 12

    Assemble the sandwiches. Spread the toasted buns with vegan mayonnaise, then add lettuce or arugula, the harissa-coated lion's mane bites, vegan feta, sliced purple bell pepper, and sliced red onion. Close the sandwiches and serve immediately.