Hot dogs with beer braised onions and warm potato salad

We’ve moved into our new flat! Hooray! And most excitingly, it has a garden. I have been missing our outdoor life from Australia. Actually, that sounds grander than it is – I’m actually not a really outdoorsy person. We had a fairly small back deck on our house in Australia and I did like eating dinner outside, having barbecues etc. After nearly 2 ½ years of what feels like being permanently inside, I was very much looking forward to our own outdoor space.

I was rather optimistic about our move and had planned a potential barbecue meal for Sunday lunch. In the end, the barbecue wasn’t actually constructed until nearly 4pm and we still don’t have a gas bottle, so the barbecue meal had to be cooked inside.

I knew I’d be busy, so I hadn’t planned a particularly complicated dish. Nor was it particularly Australian, more American really– hot dogs on the barbecue. Still, served with onions that were sweet from slow braising in beer and a warm potato salad with a bit of Dijon mustard for some kick, it was a tasty first outdoor meal. And most importantly, it was sunny!

Hot dogs with beer-braised onions
Serves 4
Delicious magazine – August 2009
4 large frankfurters
3 large onions, sliced
125ml beer
1 tbsp butter
4 hot dog buns, to serve
Mustard and ketchup, to serve

1. Light / preheat a barbecue and a large, heavy-based frying pan. Prick the frankfurters all over with a fork. Put them on the frill and the onions in the pan, in 1 layer. Keep turning the frankfurters every 2 minutes until they are getting char marks, and keep tossing the onions in the pan. (I just simmered the frankfurters)

2. Put the frankfurters in among the onions and pour a couple tablespoons of beer over the top, causing the pan to sizzle. When the beer has evaporated, keep adding a little bit more at a time to the pan until all the beer has been used up.

3. When the onions are golden, add the butter and cook for a few more minutes until they turn an amble ale colour.

4. Split the hot dog buns (and I always think they should be toasted), add the frankfurters and onions and serve with mustard and ketchup (we also added some cheese).

Dijonnaise potatoes
Serves 2
Delicious magazine – August 2007

300g baby new potatoes, scrubbed and halved
½ bunch spring onions
3 tablespoons of dijonnaise (I just mixed about 3 tablespoons of mayo with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to make this)
Handful of wild rocket

1. Boil the potatoes in a pan of lightly salted water for 12 minutes or until tender. Drain, tip into a bowl and cool slightly.

2. Add the spring onions, finely sliced, along with the dijonnaise and the rocket. Season and toss together.