Italialicious

Is there such thing as an Italian hotdog? I’m sure your answer will be something like “no way”. Then I have to tell you that in Northern Italy, especially around Bolzano in Alto Adige, you can find German Italians. And they love their Würstel, which are German hotdog sausages. In any piazza in Alto Adige you’ll always find a kiosk with a grill selling grilled Würstel, sometimes in a bun especially made so you can insert the sausage without cutting the bread! And mustard and sauerkraut are always the best companions for a Würstel.

So I was thinking about a revisited version of the Würstel you can find in Bolzano. First, instead of a hotdog or frankfurter, what could be better than an Italian pork and veal sausage!? Choose hot or sweet, and try the very long ones for a super hotdog. Grill your sausage to perfection (for about 10-12 minutes). For the bread, find a sourdough baguette, which you’ll open and grill for a couple of minutes. Moisten, rubbing it with halved tomatoes.

And substitute radicchio for sauerkraut. Serve with mustard and a grilled peach and plum salad!

Grilled radicchio
2 small heads of radicchio, quartered
Red wine vinegar (about 4 Tbsp)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Brush the quarters of radicchio with some olive oil and grill for about 2 or 3 minutes. Shred the radicchio and let it cool in the vinegar.

Grilled peach and plum salad
Fresh picked peaches and plums, halved or quartered
Your favorite greens

Grill the peaches and plums on each side for about 3 minutes. Serve warm over the greens, together with a mustard-based vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp mustard
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper


Tips

Interestingly enough, in Chile they have their own Italian hotdog, which has mashed avocado, tomato and mayonnaise. So, why is it Italian? Is it the tomatoes? Well, not quite... avocado is green, tomatoes are red, mayo is white (kind of)... Got it? It’s because of the colors of the Italian flag! A regular Chilean hotdog has sauerkraut and beer mustard (again the German influence).