What a great name! Toad in the Hole.
I wonder where that name came from? Maybe because the sausages look like toads sticking their head out of a pond or something but either way it's a great name, a great British dish. Again, something I have never made.
An interesting concept really, a Yorkshire batter that you place browned sausages, of your choice, I am not going to be regimented here, and bake in the oven and then eat with gravy.
Does it sound appealing? It may, it may not but you know curiosity always gets the better of me and since I am on that, if I have never made it cook it theme I did.
I think the motivation came from watching Nigella reruns over the Christmas break, I can't remember but before I knew it I was looking for sausages in the freezer that I could use. I had some beef ones that my husband one at lawn bowls so I thought - yeah, why not.
I did use Nigellas' Yorkshire batter recipe, which is Sophie Grigsons' method, and that means making the batter "backwards. No, you don't need to be a contortionist it just means whipping the eggs and milk and then adding the flour rather than flour first.
Then I just "freestyled" how I would make my toads but used Nigellas' recipe as the basis!
Here is how!
Toad in the Hole
Batter
350mls milk
4 eggs
punch salt
250 grams plain flour
20mls Vegetable oil
Toads
6 sausages of your preference (lamb, beef, pork or chicken) or even a combination
1 large onion cut into thin slices
Method
Preheat oven to 220c and using a 20 x 30cm roasting tin add the vegetable oil and place in the oven to get hot. Really hot.
Now make the batter.
In a mix master add the egg, salt and milk and using the whisk attachment, whisk on medium speed for several minutes until it is well combined and has a lot of air in it. Then add the flour and whisk again until your batter is smooth.
Set aside.
Now to the toads
Slice the onions and place in a pan on medium heat with a little oil just to soften. Meanwhile, take your sausages out of their casing and make smaller sausages out of them. So, with my six I now had 12.
Place them in the pan with the onions and brown on both sides just for a minute or 2.
Now be quick.....take the hot roasting pan out of the oven, place the onions and sausages into the roasting tin, spread evenly and then pour the batter over the sausages.
Return the tin back into the oven and watch the magic happen!
It will take around 30-40 minutes.
It will puff up, and that's why I do use Nigella/Sophie's way as it never seems to fail.
Mine took 30 minutes to be lovely dark crispy and divine!
Take out of the oven, cut into serving size slabs, nothing delicate about it, and pour gravy over it, lots of it. You need it. Some greens if you wish, or just the toad, in it's hole.
This really is a got to recipe and I did wonder if you could use other types of meat other than sausages but then, why fiddle with it.
Leftovers, now there is a wonderful thing. We did have them and all I did was place it back into a 180c oven for 10-15 minutes covered with foil. It was crisp and even more delicious the next day.
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