Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

Cabbage

Seattle-Style Cream Cheese Hot Dogs with a Quick Pickled Cabbage Salad

It’s been a few years since my last visit to Seattle, where my sister lives, which means too long since my first taste of a Seattle Dog – cream cheese adorned hot dogs sold by street vendors around Seattle. A little stand in Pioneer Square called ‘Dog in the Park’ sold me my best-ever Seattle Dog…in case you are ever visiting. The Seattle Dog is often made with a Polish hot dog sausage (bonus) and is usually served with cream cheese, onions, sauerkraut or cabbage and fried potatoes, oh, and mayo or chilli sauce. The cream cheese, in case you are wondering, is spread onto the inside of the toasted hot dog bun. They are not the easiest things to eat (pick up an extra large stash of napkins) but my goodness, as street food goes, they are really good.

Seatle Cream Cheese Hot Dogs

A few little tips to make this recipe extra special: after boiling the hot dogs, split them and griddle them in a hot pan. Also, split the buns and griddle them, too to warm them up a little. You can make the Quick Pickled Cabbage Salad in advance – store in in a jar for up to three days in the fridge.

Sarsons Street Food Recipe

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Cream Cheese Hot Dogs with Pickled Cabbage

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 4

A Seattle-style hot dog, with cream cheese and onions. 

Ingredients

  • 4 good quality hot dogs – all-beef, or Polish sausage preferable
  • 4 hot dog buns
  • 4 tbsp cream cheese
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 medium white onion
  • ½ head of white cabbage
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp pickling vinegar, I used Sarsons 
  • 1 tsp mild olive oil
  • 2 tsp caster sugar

Instructions

  1. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, place the hot dogs into the water and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the water, place on a plate and keep to one side.
  2. In the meantime, finely chop the onions. Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onions to the pan. Cook for ten minutes on the heat, stirring occasionally, and cook until caramelised.
  3. Very finely shred the cabbage and grate the carrot and tip into a large bowl. Sprinkle over the salt and mix well. Set to one side.
  4. Heat a separate frying pan. Split the hot dogs in half lengthways and place them into the frying pan, flat-side down. Gently fry the pre-cooked hot dogs until they are a little browned. Split the hot dog buns in half and gently toast them in the griddle pan, split side down for a few seconds.
  5. Drain some of the liquid away from the salted cabbage and pour in the Sarsons malt vinegar, olive oil and sugar. Mix well.
  6. To assemble the dogs, spread the cream cheese onto the inside of the toasted hot dog bun. Add the griddled hot dogs, sprinkle over some of the caramelised onions and top with the quick pickled cabbage salad.

Cuisine American

What has been your best street food experience ever? I’d love to know!

With thanks to Sarsons for commissioning this recipe. Photo credit: Sarsons #ad

Sweetheart Cabbage and Basil Soup

There are times when I seek simple, wholesome food. Perhaps it’s the weather (we’ve had a rainy spell here) or perhaps I’m slightly panicked by the fact that we’re officially in school holiday territory and my ‘uniform’ of black and baggy simply won’t do for much longer. Either way, my two favourite soups for this kind of mood are homemade chicken soup and this one, homemade Sweetheart Cabbage and Basil Soup.  Both are prescribed in very specific circumstances! 

Sweetheart cabbage is also known as ‘pointed cabbage’ and is pale green in colour. Really, any cabbage can be used for this soup.  Obviously, there is a very well-known cabbage soup diet – and no, I’m not on it. However, I do like cabbage (it is a requirement of being Polish) and this soup uses a whole assortment of seasonal ingredients – British Sweetheart cabbage (I adore the name), courgettes (Zucchini) and baby carrots. If you use fresh tomatoes, they would be in season too, perhaps even home grown. I always keep a pot of fresh basil growing on my kitchen window – so technically, that’s in season too. If you wanted to add extra substance, you could add a tin of organic chickpeas or perhaps butter beans.

You could also very easily give this soup a French makeover, by adding a tablespoon of fresh green pesto at the end, making it a more like a Soup au Pistou. It also tastes even better with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan over the top. Far from being reminiscent of over-boiled cabbage of school days, this soup is light, the cabbage has a ‘bite’ and it is strangely comforting.

It goes without saying, I’m adding the link to July’s round of Simple and in Season…don’t forget to add your seasonal recipes too.
 

Tomorrow I’ll be back to baking cakes for an end of term party. I also have a chocolate making course I attended to tell you about and a lovely baked blueberry cheesecake recipe to share…  

Sweetheart Cabbage & Basil Soup
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

A few sprays or one tablespoon of olive oil
1 Large white onion, chopped
8 Baby carrots, chopped into small cubes
1 Sweetheart/Pointed cabbage, shredded
3 Courgettes/Zucchini, cubed 
1 Tin tomatoes or 4 fresh tomatoes, peeled and de-seeded
1 Tablespoon tomato puree
1.5 litres chicken or vegetable stock ( a cube made up is fine)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 Fresh basil leaves

Method:

1. Spray a large pan with olive oil spray or heat one tablespoon of olive oil.

2. Gently fry the chopped onions until they start to soften. Add your chopped carrots and cook for a further few minutes.

3. Add in the shredded cabbage and pour in the vegetable or chicken stock, add the tin of tomatoes and tomato puree. Make sure all the vegetables are covered with stock, if not, add some more liquid. Simmer for fifteen minutes.

4. Add in the cubed courgette/zucchini and cook for a further five minutes.

5. At the end, season with a twist of black pepper, a tablespoon of soy sauce and throw in a handful of basil leaves.