Toad-in-the-hole
Toad in the hole
On British tables for more than 200 years, toad-in-the-hole was a way of making a little go a long way for the lower classes. I like to make things a bit more celebratory with honey-mustard sausages wrapped in proscuitto and enveloped in beer batter.
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 50 mins
Total time: 55 mins
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 30g beef dripping
- 8 cumberland sausages
- 115g plain flour
- Large pinch sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 large eggs
- 225ml full fat milk
- 75ml beer
- 30g fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 2tbsp dijon mustard
- 1tbsp honey
- 8 slices prosciutto ham
Cooking Directions
- Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Beat in the eggs, then the beer and milk, stirring until the batter is the consistency of pouring cream. Strain through a sieve and stir in the thyme. Cover and leave to rest.
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Heat the dripping in a 30cm x 22cm oven proof dish until smoking. Add the sausages and coat completely in the hot fat. Cook for 20 minutes until just starting to colour.
- Mix the mustard and honey in a small bowl.
- Remove the sausages, putting the dish back in the oven to maintain its temperature, and brush liberally with the honey and mustard. Wrap each sausage with a slice of prosciutto and quickly seal in a hot frying pan.
- Add the wrapped sausages to the hot dish and pour in the batter. Return to the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes until well risen and golden. Don't be tempted to open the oven door too early or the batter will sink.
- Serve with onion gravy and vegetables.