Tempeh Hoagie-Letta

Recipe By Kim O'Donnel from the book “The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook”

Born and raised outside of Philadelphia by two Philly natives, I cut my teeth (not long after the T-bone from my high chair days) on footlong sandwiches that are my hometown's cultural icons. I’m talking about the cheese steak and the hoagie, possibly two of the greatest artery cloggers ever invented, a mound of meat and fixins tucked into a freshly baked Italian roll, always made to order with homegrown “atty-tude” in a neighborhood joint—a luncheonette, corner sandwich shop, or street cart.

I wondered if it was possible to recreate the hoagied bliss of my youth, but without the cold cuts. Here, pan-fried tempeh (which you’ll also meet on page 131) stands in for the Italian meats and cozies up with an olive salad that is reminiscent of the dressing on a muffaletta, the hoagie’s distant and equally scrumptious cousin from New Orleans.

Ladies and gents, meet the hoagie-letta.