When I had a serious craving for sauerkraut a few weeks ago, Chris brought home a big-ass jar and said, “Hey, we should make tofu reubens soon.”

Though I’ve never had a non-vegetarian reuben before (still not sure how I grew up in the land of delis and diners and managed that), it sounded good. The rye bread and swiss cheese were easy to come by, but the vegetarian Russian dressing required some thought. Mayonnaise is on the short list of foods I don’t like (unless it’s so mixed in I can’t taste it), and I didn’t really see a point to buying a vegetarian version of something I detest anyway. So what to use?

I have to give credit where it’s due—My mom came into the city yesterday to go to hot yoga with me, and we did a trade: I showed her how to make Chris’ granola (and sent her home with some, of course) and she came up with a tasty mayo-free Russian dressing recipe.

Vegetarian Russian Dressing

• ~1/4 c plain yogurt
• ~1/4 c ketchup
• ~1 tbsp vinegar
• 15-20 cornichons, chopped + 1 tsp juice
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/4-1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix well (with a whisk) and spread. Pretty simple.

The sandwiches themselves, by the way, were fantastic. Rye bread with baked tofu,  sauerkraut, melted swiss cheese, and a generous helping of the dressing…perfect food for a rainy night.