Celebrating a Great British Classic

When I tried to think about which recipe to write this month to celebrate National Sausage Week, I went through the usual bangers ‘n mash and sausage casserole type dishes. But for me, one of the best ways to serve sausages has to be the great British classic ‘toad in the hole;’ sausages wrapped in a crisp batter with a lovely rich onion gravy and fluffy buttery mashed potato.
One theory is that toad In the hole began in the 18th century when cooks wrapped a small piece of mutton in a large piece of suet crust to make the meat go further. This was thought to resemble a toad in a hole and has now become the dish we all know as sausage in a Yorkshire pud batter. You can also make these into individual toads using a larger ringed Yorkshire pudding tin. If you want, throw a couple of sprigs of rosemary into the batter to make it more interesting.
It’s British and it’s comfort eating at its very best - who cares about those few extra calories, it’s definitely worth it!

Toad In The Hole

Serves 4

8 good quality sausages
sunflower oil
4 sprigs rosemary (optional)
2 red onions peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
500ml gravy made with gravy granules
dash of red wine (optional)
Large knob of butter
1 bay leaf

For the batter

285ml/1/2 pint milk
115g/4oz plain flour
3 eggs
pinch of salt

Method:

1) First make the batter. Sift together the flour and salt into a bowl and break the eggs into the middle. Stir well then add the milk a little at a time beating hard (I find a fork is best) until you have a smooth batter the consistency of cream. Leave to stand.

2) Heat the oven to its highest temperature and place just under ½ an inch of oil in a baking or roasting tin in the middle of the oven. When the oil is smoking hot, carefully add the sausages, allowing them to colour to lightly golden.

3) When browned, carefully remove the tin, keeping oven door shut to retain the heat and my little tip is to throw in a splash of cold water and quickly beat before carefully pouring the batter mix over the sausages, putting the rosemary in if you want. Place the tin back into the oven and do not open for at least 20 mins. Only remove when golden and crisp.

4) Meanwhile, slowly fry the onions and garlic in the butter until soft and caramelised , then add the wine if using, followed by the made up gravy and bayleaf (to give more flavour use the water from potatoes or greens). Simmer for a few minutes and you should have a lovely onion gravy.

5) Serve with potato mashed with butter, milk, salt and pepper, and perhaps some greens, serving the onion gravy on the side.

Remember guilt doesn’t come into this one!