Completo Italiano
Chile’s everyday hot dog: a frank buried under mashed avocado, diced tomato and a thick stripe of mayo, named for the colors of the Italian flag.
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total
- 35 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
The completo is Chile’s take on the hot dog, sold from sidewalk completeras in every city from Santiago to Arica. The italiano version gets its name from the colors on top, green avocado, red tomato and white mayonnaise, echoing the Italian flag.
The dish lives or dies on the avocado and the mayo. The avocado needs mashing with salt and lime right before serving so it does not brown, and the mayonnaise goes on thick, usually squeezed straight from a bottle in a ridged stripe rather than spread with a knife.
Completo Italiano is one of the best hot dogs from around the world.
method
Bring a pot of water to a bare simmer and slip in the frankfurters. Poach for 5 to 6 minutes until hot through, then keep them warm in the water off the heat.
Mash the avocados with a fork, the lime juice and a good pinch of salt. Keep it a little chunky, and do this close to serving time so it does not brown.
Dice the tomatoes small and tip them into a sieve for 5 minutes to drain off the excess juice, which keeps the bun from going soggy.
Split the buns and warm them, cut side down, on a dry skillet for a minute.
Lay a frankfurter in each bun, then heap on the mashed avocado and scatter the drained tomato over it.
Finish with a thick zig-zag of mayonnaise, from a squeeze bottle if you have one, and serve right away.
chef's tips
- Drain the tomato well, or the bun turns soft within minutes.
- A squeeze bottle gets you the classic ridged stripe of mayo; a knife just smears it.
- Mash the avocado with lime right before building the sandwich, not ahead of time, so it stays bright green.