Potato casserole surprise: Hot dogs take a daring twist

Hot dogs are a food product that still stirs a lot of emotions, and rightly so! I'm not of the opinion that we should entrust them with our health and fitness. However, we must be honest and clearly state an obvious fact. There are hot dogs and there are... hot dogs. Those with a good, simple composition, high meat content (certainly excluding any mechanically separated meat) and as few "E" additives as possible, aren't so bad. And I don’t see anything particularly dreadful about eating them from time to time. Not just for breakfast, either.

Recently, I decided to try out a recipe that has been on my mind for a long time: potato casserole with hot dogs. Sounds controversial? Perhaps, but let's remember that a cheat day exists even in strict diets. That's exactly how I treat this dish. It's simple, tasty, affordable, and no one can convince me that it's culinary hooliganism! Besides, don’t just take my word for it, try out the recipe below and judge for yourself.

Ingredients:

• 300g good quality hot dogs,
• 700g potatoes,
• 2 onions,
• 1 courgette,
• 4 gherkins,
• 100ml tomato purée,
• 200g block of yellow cheese,
• Salt,
• Pepper,
• Herbes de Provence,
• Oil for frying.

Method:

1. Peel, wash, and boil the potatoes. They shouldn't be completely soft; in fact, it’s better if they’re not. Parboiling helps them blend better with the other ingredients. After draining, slice the potatoes.
2. Chop the remaining vegetables: cut the courgette into strips, slice the onions, and dice the gherkins.
3. Cut the hot dogs into smaller pieces.
4. Sauté all the vegetables (except for the potatoes) and hot dogs in a small amount of oil.
5. Add tomato purée mixed with water and season with salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence.
6. Place half of the potatoes at the bottom of a casserole dish. Layer the vegetables and hot dogs on top, then add the remaining potatoes.
7. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Bake for 12 minutes at 180°C and it's ready. Enjoy!