Hot Dog Chop Salad with Avocado Ranch

Here is another one of my favourite recipes from Molly Yeh's Home is Where the Eggs Are cookbook.

Ok, I happen to love hot dogs especially in the summer out at the cabin. When I saw this recipe I knew it was one I had to try and let me tell you it is delicious! I have a made it a few times and when I make it for friends at first they question hot dogs being in a salad but then once they try it they are sold! It's especially perfect when you have left over hot dogs in the fridge or freezer (let's be honest we all do in the summer) and don't feel like eating another traditional hot dog!

Serves 4-6

The Ingredients

Dressing

• 1/2 large avocado, pitted and peeled

• 1/4 cup buttermilk

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped chives or scallions, plus more for topping the salad

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped dill, plus more for topping the salad

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley, plus more for topping the salad

• 1 tsp sugar

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad

• 2 Tbsp canola oil

• 2 ears corn or about 1 cup frozen corn kernels

• 4 hot dogs

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 1/2 cups pumpernickel bread, cut into 3/4" cubes

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 12 ounces (340 g) romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped (or sub red leaf lettuce)

• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped (not sure how to hard boil eggs, recipe can be found here. No judgement here, I hardly ever make hard boiled eggs so I often have to loop up the directions)

• 1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered (I usually just half them)

• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

Directions

1. To make the dressing, add the avocado, buttermilk, mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives or scallions, dill, parsley, sugar, a good pinch of salt, and a few turns of pepper to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Set aside.

2. Heat and oiled grill, grill pan, or large skillet over medium-high heat and grill the ears of the corn and hot dogs on all sides for a few minutes, until char marks appear. (If using frozen corn, you can place the skillet right on the grill.) Remove to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off the cob and season with salt and pepper. Cut the hot dogs into bite-size pieces.

3. To make the croutons, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons oil. Add the pumpernickel cubes and cook, tossing occasionally, until crisp and toasty on the outside but still chewy on the inside, 4-6 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with a good pinch of salt, pepper, and the garlic powder.

4. To assemble the salad, add the romaine to a large bowl and arrange all the toppings in a pretty colour-block design on top. Sprinkle with additional herbs and toss everything together with the dressing to taste.

Sexy tip: If you're like me and rarely have buttermilk on hand you can simply swap for regular milk. It lightens the dressing up and still keeps a delicious flavour!