Foodie Friday - Toad in the hole

If my memory serves me Toad in the Hole was about the first dish I ever cooked in a lesson at school. Or maybe scones came first.  So long ago now.

Toad in the Hole is a traditional English dish. It is basically sausages sitting in a Yorkshire pudding batter.  It was a way to make a little cheap meat stretch a long way.

One explanation given for the name of the dish is that like toads peep out of their burrows looking for prey, the sausages also peek out of the batter.  Ugh!

Here is a traditional recipe from Simply Recipes:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup  (180 g) of all purpose flour
• 1 scant teaspoon Kosher salt
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cup (350 ml) milk
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb (450 g) of bangers (an English sausage made with pork and breadcrumbs), or good quality pork or beef sausage links (in casings)

Method

1 Make batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with the salt and a pinch of pepper. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the eggs, milk, and melted butter into the well and whisk into the flour until smooth. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.
2 Pre-heat baking dish: Coat the bottom and sides of an 8x12 or 9x9 ceramic or metal casserole dish with vegetable oil (we use high smoke point rice bran oil or canola oil). Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Put the empty dish on the rack. Preheat the oven with the dish in it to 425°F(220°C).
3 Brown the sausages: While the oven is coming to temperature, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet on medium high. Add the sausages and brown them on at least a couple sides.

4 Pour batter over sausages: When the sausages have browned, and the dish in the oven hot, pull the oven rack out a bit, put the sausages in the casserole dish, and pour the batter over the sausages.

5 Bake: Bake at 425°F(220°C) for about 20-30 minutes or until the batter is risen and golden.

Serve at once.