Spicy Veggie Dogs

I'm generally not too keen in replicating meat eaters' favourites as veggie versions, but sometimes I do try to create such dishes. This time I made vegetarian hot dogs, aka veggie dogs, with cheese, spices and a homemade tomato sauce. I can't imagine that a meat version could ever be better than this and I can only wish that some meat eaters would admit that. Of course I personally think that meat never improves things. However I must confess that I have never eaten a hot dog in my life! You might be shocked by this, but it has just been that way, as I already was a vegetarian when such dishes would've been available to me. They are not very typical food in Finland in the countryside. So I'm not sure how authentic today's recipe is, but then again, I'm sure that these were pretty good what comes to veggie dogs. Do you have any experiences with vegetarian hot dogs?

Ingredients

8 submarine rolls

8 vegetarian sausages

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp smoky firepit rub (consisting of smoked paprika, chipotle chilli and herbs and spices)

200 g grated mature Cheddar

Chilli flakes

Fried onions

Tomato sauce: 1 onion, 1 garlic cloves, 1 tsp olive oil, 200 g plum tomatoes, fresh oregano, tomato purée, salt and pepper.

Method

Make the tomato sauce first. Chop the onion and garlic finely and cook them in olive oil. Add the tomatoes and let simmer. Season with fresh oregano, tomato purée, salt and pepper. Finally purée it all into a smooth sauce.

Fry the vegetarian sausages in the vegetable oil until golden brown. Towards the end, add a sprinkle of the smoky firepit rub and toss the sausages in the pan.

Make a cut into the submarine roll and place the sausage into the roll. Put some grated cheese and chilli flakes on the top.

Bake in the oven at 200 C until the cheese has melted.

Put the fried onions on the top and serve the veggie dog with the tomato sauce (warm or cold depending on preference).

Enjoy!

Your VegHog