Toad in the Hole

This oddly named dish is kind of like a cross between a pancake and a quiche. I don’t know if the version I make is authentic or not, I’ve only had it made by two people and one of them was me. The other was an old Scottish lady, and it wasn’t very good, but this isn’t her recipe. This is a slightly modified version from a “celebrity” chef that you most likely have never heard of. Much like this dish, which I personally had never heard of until I moved to the UK. Though since “discovering” it and sharing its existence with some people in the US, several told me that the title refers to an egg fried into an open circle cut out of bread. I’ve always known that as “Egg in a Basket”.  Whatever you call it this is a good, fast, filling supper that you should definitely try… and don’t forget the pork and beans!

Ingredients

• 1 cup/120g all-purpose (plain) flour
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 4 large eggs
• 10 oz/300 ml milk
• 2 tsp dried thyme leafs
• 8 large to 16 small (1lb total) sausage links (see notes)
• Dijon mustard (optional)
• 2 TBSP oil, drippings or shortening (veg, olive, canola)
• Van Camp’s Pork & Beans to serve (optional)

Instructions

IMPORTANT! Make the batter 30 minutes, to 4 hours before you want to cook this dish.

1. In a blender, add the flour, salt, pepper, eggs, milk, and thyme. Blend until very smooth (just a few seconds) and then leave to rest covered for at least 30 minutes (up to 4 hours) in a cool place. See notes.
2. Prepare the sausages (separate the links). Then, depending on what type of sausages you use, you will want to precook them fully, or just brown them. If you use really large fat sausages definitely precook and cool them. If you use small chipolata (breakfast link) style, then just brown them a bit, cool them, and then brush them with a bit of the optional Dijon mustard.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a 4-quart/11″x13″ or equivalent baking pan. Place the baking pan in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400f/200c.
4. When the oven has reached temperature, working quickly and carefully remove the pan from the oven. Add the prepared sausages and pour the batter over them.
5. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sides are well risen, browned and puffy and the center is cooked through but not hard. You should also check that the sausages are cooked through if you did not precook them all the way.
6. It will deflate quickly once removed from the oven, let it fall, and then cut into 4 portions.
   Serve immediately with baked beans on the side.

Serves 4 (depending on the meal and the appetite of the people eating it!)

Notes

• I always made this in the UK so good dinner sausages were always available to me. In the US, it’s much tougher to find the right kind of sausages for this. I have made it with my homemade Cumberlands and I’ve made it with bratwurst. I’ve also tried it with breakfast sausages, US grocery store pre-cooked “British Bangers” and Trader Joe’s Chicken Sausage. Hands down favorite is the Trader Joe’s Chicken Sausages, and a close second was my homemade Cumberlands. Whatever you decide to use, make sure they are either pre-cooked or will cook in the oven in 30 minutes or less with just a bit of browning first. The ones pictured are tiny finger-sized sausages so I don’t fully precook them, but when I use my homemade Cumberlands I do.
• I either do this in the blender or use a beaker and a hand blender. I like the batter to be very smooth. Also, it will cook much better if you let it rest for a few hours. 30 Minutes will just get by, but a few hours will yield spectacular results. If you kitchen is warm you can just put the batter in a cool place, or as a last resort put it in the fridge and take it out a few minutes before you want to cook it. It’s best if it is at room temperature. I like to make the batter in the blender and just leave it there on the stand. That way I can give it a few pulses before I pour it into the pan to cook it.
• The first time I had this it was served with the kind of Heinz baked beans you only get in the UK or import stores. To me, it seems more of a sweet tomato soup with beans swimming in it. In the US baked beans are not quite the same thing, so I use Van Camp’s Pork & Beans which is very similar. I actually put the beans on top of mine (on my own plate I mean). You can, of course, use another brand or skip them altogether if you like.
• This is very much a dinner meal in the UK, but I made it for my parents once, and they thought it was more breakfasty than dinnery. If you served this for breakfast/brunch I’d serve it wish some fresh fruit. We generally eat this for dinner, so beans and maybe a green salad on the side.