Vegan chilli dog with ‘cheese’ and ‘bacon’ potato balls
This vegan hotdog is full of beans – the sausage is topped with tasty chilli, jalapenos in a light batter and some cooling avocado crema. Plus, there’s a super side dish of crisp potato balls loaded with vegan ‘cheese’ sauce and bacon bits.
Ingredients
- 4 rashers vegan bacon
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 4 hotdog buns
- 4 vegan hotdogs
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
For the vegan chilli
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 large red pepper, seeds removed and finely diced
- 1 celery stick, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 400g tin red kidney beans
- 100ml/3½fl oz red wine
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the potato balls
- 3 large floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, peeled
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 60²µ/2¼´Ç³ú plain flour
- vegetable oil, for deep frying
For the fried jalapenos
- 20²µ/¾´Ç³ú plain flour
- 20²µ/¾´Ç³ú cornflour
- 50ml/2fl oz sparkling water
- 24 sliced pickled jalapenos, drained and well dried
- salt
For the avocado crema
- 1 very ripe avocado
- 1 lime, juice only
- 4 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
For the ‘cheese’ sauce
Method
First, make the vegan chilli. Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat until shimmering, add the onion, pepper, celery and a pinch of salt and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, to make the potato balls, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. Drain and leave to cool.
Add the garlic, chilli powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and tomato purée to the vegan chilli mixture and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes, kidney beans, red wine, sugar and bay leaf, then simmer gently for 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Coarsely grate the par-boiled potatoes into a large bowl and add the garlic and onion powders, oregano and smoked paprika. Season well with salt and pepper and stir in the flour.
Preheat a deep-fat fryer to 170C. Shape the potato mixture into 12 balls. Fry the potato balls, six at a time, for 4 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven.
Increase the fryer temperature to 190C. To make the fried jalapenos, mix together the flours with the sparkling water and season the batter with salt. Coat the jalapeno slices in the batter and deep-fry for 2 minutes until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
To make the avocado crema, halve the avocado and scoop the flesh into a blender. Add the lime juice and mayonnaise and blend until very smooth. Season to taste and place in a squeezy bottle.
Cook the vegan bacon in an oiled frying pan for 3 minutes on each side until crisp. Transfer to a chopping board and roughly chop.
To make the ‘cheese’ sauce, bring the oat milk just to a simmer in a small saucepan. Turn the heat to low, add the vegan cheese and stir together until melted and thick. Add a pinch of turmeric to give a pleasant colour. Keep warm.
Lightly toast the hotdog buns and cook the hotdogs according to the packet instructions.
Place a hotdog in each bun and ladle over a generous amount of the chilli, drizzle the avocado crema across and garnish with fried jalapenos and chopped coriander. Pile the potato balls on a small plate and top with the cheese sauce, bacon and more fried jalapenos.
