Chicago style hot dog with polenta fries and garlic aoli

I think of hot dogs and burgers as cousins. They're related, but different in their own way. The basic skeleton of hot dogs and burgers are the same: you've got the meat tucked snug between the buns; but then the rest is up to you. You can make your hot dog or burger become anything you want it to be. The possibilities are endless.

Although I am always keen for a burger, the fact that there are less vegan hot dogs out there, I always get a bit more excited when I find one, or find a recipe for one. Now I'm not into fancy material things, but when it comes to my hot dogs (and burgers), I like the fillings to be fancy. I'm talkin' a real gourmet hot dog. None of that plain sausage in a bun business. I want there to be so many fancy fillings that I struggle to keep it from dripping out when I bite into the thing. That's the real hot dog experience. 

I haven't tried many of the vegan hot dog joints in Perth yet, but I will be sure to get on that ASAP. Until then, I'm quite happy to try some of the recipes that I find online. 

I came across the Chicago-style hot dog the other week and I wanted to try it because it was vegan friendly. There wasn't any cheese so it was easy to veganise. 

The hot dog consists of a sesame seed bun, sausage, tomato wedges, green pickle relish, diced onion, dill pickles, mustard, celery salt and sport peppers. If you're not drooling right now...then I just don't understand why not :P

Now for all you readers in America, these ingredients might be very easy to find, but over here is Perth, Western Australia, it's not that easy. I couldn't find any hot dog buns with sesame seeds, and I had no luck with the sports peppers either. Although I would have loved a more authentic Chicago-style hot dog, it still tasted really good once it was all assembled. 

Another similarity between hot dogs and burgers is that they both go great with a side of fries. I've never had polenta fries before, but I liked the sound of them so I baked some up to accompany my hot dog. 

The fries were nice and crispy and even my brother liked them. I whipped up some garlic aoli as well. This was much easier to do ever since I found vegan mayonnaise in the supermarket. 

This was such a good dinner. I was so sad to put that last bite in my mouth. 

 

Polenta fries
Original recipe from here

Makes up to 3 dozen fries

Ingredients

• 1 cup polenta
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried cilantro
• ½ tsp garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic minced)
• ¾ tsp salt

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, add polenta, water, dried oregano, dried cilantro, garlic powder and salt and stir. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Grab a baking sheet and line with parchment paper. Spread the hot polenta evenly on the baking sheet until polenta is about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Put the baking sheet into the refrigerator and cool for 15-20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200C. Use a pizza cutter and cut the polenta into fries that are about ½ inch wide. Remove the polenta from the baking sheet and re-line it with foil. Add the polenta fries to the foil and spray with cooking spray, then season with salt.
4. Put the polenta fries into the oven for 15-20 minutes until polenta fries are lightly browned. Serve with tomato sauce, ketchup or aoli.

 Vegan Garlic Aoli

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions
Combine all ingredients and mix well

Vegan Rustic Winter Stew and Polenta

Sometimes cooking takes such a long time. It's definitely one of the downsides. All the chopping and the measuring. But the end result is always worth all the prep. That was definitely the case for my dinner tonight.

I decided to make a winter dish that Ruth had made a few weeks back. I found the recipe on Post Punk Kitchen. There was lots of prep involved because I decided to do things a bit differently from the recipe. 

The recipe was Rustic Winter Stew Over Polenta. There's just nothing better than that for a winter night. I loved how hearty this meal was and it definitely left me feeling all warm, happy and healthy. 

I stirred my stew a bit too much, so it all kind of ended up mushing together. Maybe don't do what I did if you plan on serving it to people and you want it to look as good as the photo on the Post Punk Kitchen website :)

 

Vegan Rustic Winter Stew and Polenta
(Adapted from Post Punk Kitchen)

Serves 8

Ingredients
For the stew:

• Olive oil (from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons, depending how much you feel like using)
• 1 small onion, diced medium
• 4 cloves garlic, minced ( I love garlic so I used heaps)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• Several dashes fresh black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 14oz (400g) can cooked lentils, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups baby carrots (I sliced up 3 medium sized carrots)
• 1lb chopped tomatoes
• 14oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 lb orange sweet potato, cut into bite sized cubes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 leeks, white & light green parts only, in 1 inch chunks (and washed well)
• Fresh rosemary or thyme, to serve (realistically, only if you’re taking food photos)

For the polenta:

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup dry polenta 

Directions
To make the stew:
Preheat a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion in olive oil, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, celery seed, pepper and salt and saute a minute more.
Add the baby carrots, tomatoes, tomato paste and vegetable broth. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally for about 20 minutes (now is a good time to start the polenta.)
Add sweet potatoes, leeks, lentils and bay leaves. Lower heat to simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 to 30 more minutes, until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Let sit for 10 minutes or so to allow the flavors to meld. Serve over polenta, garnished with fresh herbs, if you like.

To make the polenta:
Bring vegetable broth and salt to a boil in a 2 quart pot. Add oil. Lower heat to simmer. Add the polenta in a slow steady stream, stirring constantly with a whisk. Whisk for about 5 minutes, until polenta is thickened. Keeping heat low, cover and let cook for 20 more minutes or so, stirring occasionally.