Chickpea "Tuna" Salad Sandwich

When I was growing up, my mom used to prepare tuna sandwiches for me. At the time, nothing beat that creamy yet chewy texture of the combination of tuna fish and mayonnaise.

But now, for many reasons, that doesn't sound very appetizing anymore... and this is not unfortunate.

By searching online, I was able to find a simple "tuna" sandwich recipe that could easily be veganized. So what replaces the tuna?

Chickpeas!

Oh, chickpeas, you are so versatile. I had this sandwich for early lunch with sweet potato chips from Food Should Taste Good. Yum, yum.
As a tip, make sure you use either umeboshi vinegar or crumpled nori (seaweed) sheets to reach that fishy flavor or else it may end up tasting more like an egg salad sandwich. But then again, either flavors are win-win!

Chickpea "Tuna" Salad Sandwich
serves 2

1.5 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can (15-oz) of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard (I used plain yellow mustard)
1 1/2 tablespoons umebochi vinegar (I subbed half a crumpled nori sheet)
2 teaspoons celery seeds (did not use this)
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons sliced scallions
ground pepper, to taste
a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

four slices whole grain bread
a couple of tomato slices
a few lettuce leaves, washed and dried well

1. Place chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor and pulse two or three times to roughly chop. Add remaining ingredients and pulse two or three times more to incorporate.
2. Lay out the bread and place the lettuce leaves on two slices. Spoon on the "tuna" salad and top with the other slice of bread. Cut in half and enjoy!

No tuna fish were hurt in the making of this sandwich.

I really liked how not too much mayonnaise was called for in the recipe. Unlike Rick, I have a thing for mayo but you never want to get too crazy with it, especially since it's high in calories (unless you're using a fat-free version). I remember when my mom, bless her, used to make me tuna sandwiches; she always added tons of mayonnaise! Oh, those were the days.

Nutrition Facts per Serving
(serves 2)

Calories: 301
Fat: 11.9g
Carbs: 39.3g
Protein: 13.3g
Fiber: 10.5

These calculations do not take into account the kind of bread used, tomatoes, or lettuce, but it does assume you used regular vegan mayonnaise (not fat-free).
Chickpeas are a great source of fiber, protein, B vitamins (especially folate), vitamin K, iron, magnesium, manganese, and zinc.

Anyway, this sandwich was great and I predict Rick would refuse to touch it, as he always hated tuna... and mayonnaise. Oh, well. More for me! Next time I'll add sliced tomatoes and spinach.

Oh, one last thing; when Rick and I were up in San Jose, we went to the Westfield Oak Ridge Mall to eat at Loving Hut. We ordered...

vegan pho soup for him...

...and a tuno melt for me!

Both orders were very delicious. Rick said this was the best vegan pho he's every had! As for my tuno melt, it was very yummy and it was brimming with melted cheddar Daiya cheese. I gave it five stars on the first bite.

Have a great one, everybody.