Hot Dogs with Green Tomato Relish

By LaLaCooks

When Skip Bennett steams lobsters on the Island Creek barge, he always tosses hot dogs into the pot for the last few minutes to make his signature "steamer dogs." He also steams the buns in the pot—it makes them perfectly warm and soft—and tops the franks with a sweet-spicy green-tomato relish. If you're not making lobster, Jeremy Sewall suggests steaming the hot dogs with stout.

Ingredients

• 1 pound green (unripe) tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Details

Servings 8
Cooking time 120mins
Adapted from foodandwine.com

Preparation

Step 1

MAKE THE RELISH
In a colander, toss the green tomatoes, pepper and onion with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt and let stand for 1 hour to drain.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the drained vegetables and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add the vinegar, brown sugar, crushed red pepper, cloves, celery salt and ginger and simmer until thick, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature and season with salt.

PREPARE THE HOT DOGS
In a large saucepan, combine the water, beer, celery seed, onion and garlic and bring to a boil. Put a large steamer basket over the boiling water and add the hot dogs. Cover and steam over moderate heat for 8 minutes. Add the hot dog buns and steam for 30 seconds.

Put a hot dog in each bun, spread with green tomato relish and serve.

Make Ahead
The relish can be refrigerated for up to 2 months.