Toad in the Hole
Fat pork sausages nestled into a giant Yorkshire pudding — this is a Wednesday-night dinner dressed up in Sunday clothes. Serve it with onion gravy and buttered greens and it becomes a feast.
Ingredients
140 g plain flour
3 large eggs
200 ml whole milk
1 tsp English mustard powder
8 good-quality pork sausages
2 tbsp beef dripping or vegetable oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Method
- 1
Whisk the flour, eggs, milk, mustard powder and a good pinch of salt into a smooth batter. Rest for at least 30 minutes.
- 2
Heat the oven to 220°C. Put the dripping into a roasting tin and slide it into the oven until smoking hot.
- 3
Add the sausages to the tin and roast for 10 minutes, turning once, until nicely browned in the hot fat.
- 4
Give the batter a final whisk, then pour it around the sausages in one confident go. Scatter over the thyme and return to the oven immediately.
- 5
Bake, undisturbed, for 30 minutes until the batter is puffed, deeply golden and crisp at the edges. Serve at once with onion gravy.
Cook's notes
Do not open the oven door for the first 25 minutes. The batter needs uninterrupted heat to climb and set into that dramatic golden crown.