LAMB HOT DOGS WITH CARAMELISED ONION, HOROPITO & SCORCHED TOMATO

MAKES 8 / PREPARATION 15 MINUTES / COOKING 1 HOUR

100ml canola oil

800g white onion (about 4 medium

onions), sliced as thinly as possible 20g Kaituna dried horopito

2 teaspoons salt

80ml malt vinegar

50g brown sugar

600g ripe tomatoes, halved

8 lamb sausages (I use Cameron Harrison) 120g smoked cheddar cheese 8 sourdough hot dog buns 250ml ketchup mayonnaise and/or mustard, to serve

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pot. Add the onions and cook over a moderate heat, stirring regularly, for 20 minutes to soften. Add the horopito and salt and continue to cook until the onions begin to develop a light colour. Add the malt vinegar and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes to reduce. Add the brown sugar, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for approximately 30 minutes stirring regularly until the onions become syrupy and caramelised. Remove from the heat and keep aside.

Brush the tomatoes with oil, season with a healthy pinch of salt and place under a grill or on a barbecue and cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side until they begin to blister and collapse. Remove from the heat and place in a heatproof bowl to rest for 10 minutes, then pulp with the back of a fork. Pierce the sausages with a knife tip and cook under a grill or on a barbecue until the juices run clear and fat is beginning to spurt. Remove from heat.

Controversy incoming: I like my hot dog bun untoasted, but feel free to gently warm the buns. Grate the smoked cheese. To assemble the hot dogs, put a sausage in each roll, add a squirt of ketchup, load up caramelised onion and scorched tomato and top with cheese. Add mayonnaise and/or mustard to taste.

GIVE THESE A GO… Double pork brat with kimchi, togarashi & tonkatsu sauce

Place 16 bratwurst (I use Bavarianz Nürnberger) in a clean bowl, sprinkle over a generous tablespoon of togarashi seasoning and toss well to coat. In a separate bowl, mix 400g kimchi with 5 tablespoons mayonnaise. Cook the bratwurst under a hot grill for 3-4 minutes on each side and remove from heat. Warm 8 soft white hot dog rolls and place 2 bratwurst in each roll. Top with the kimchi and finish with a streak of tonkatsu and an additional sprinkling of togarashi.

Parsley, sage & rosemary tofu hot dogs with lime avocado & pesto

Put the flesh of 2 medium-sized avocados into a bowl and season with a good pinch of salt and 5-6 cracks of pepper.

Add 2 tablespoons lime juice, mash together with a fork and keep to one side. Cook 8 Bean Supreme parsley, sage & rosemary sausages under a hot grill for 3-4 minutes each side and remove from heat. Split 8 soft white hot dog rolls and spread with mustard. Divide sausages between buns and load up with crushed avocado. Drizzle with basil pesto and add picked watercress sprigs for a peppery kick.

Tandoori chicken hot dog with blackened cucumber raita

Mix 1 cup yoghurt with 3 tablespoons tandoori paste in a bowl and add 8 chicken sausages. Cover and place in fridge to marinate for 1-2 hours. Split a large telegraph cucumber lengthwise and then into quarters. Place on a baking dish and rub with 1 teaspoon each of salt, ground cumin seed, mild chilli powder and ground fenugreek seed, and drizzle with oil. Place cucumbers skin-side down on a hot barbecue and cook on a high heat for 4-5 minutes until the skin chars. Remove from the heat and allow to rest. When cool, coarsely chop cucumber and mix with 1 cup yoghurt and ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves. Remove sausages from marinade and shake off excess. Cook on a hot grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. Warm 8 split hot dog rolls and brush with soft butter. Assemble the hot dogs and top with cucumber raita and some finely sliced spring onion.

Pilsner corn dogs

Place 8 sausages of choice into a pot of cold water and bring to a simmer to precook. Remove from water and allow to steam dry. Insert a popsicle-style stick halfway into each sausage. In a bowl, mix 1 cup each of fine cornmeal and flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 teaspoons salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add ½ cup each of milk and light pilsner beer and 2 whole size 7 eggs. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and thick. Heat a litre of canola oil in a heavy-based pot to 160℃, or until a bread cube fries to golden in 6 seconds. Coat the dry sausages in flour and swirl in the batter. Shake off excess and cook 2 corn dogs at a time for 3-4 minutes until golden. Remove from oil to absorbent paper and repeat. Serve with ketchup and mustard.

Cook’s tip: The longer the batter sits, the more it will thicken. It can be thinned down with warm water for a lighter batter.

The hot dog is a new-world classic. German immigrants brought the art of sausage making and the ever-lovable Dachshund dog breed to the USA. The connection was made and the rest is history. The appeal of hot dogs still lasts today with their no-fuss attitude, making them an ideal summer evening treat.