There is a Malay idiom katak di bawah tempurung (literally: a frog under a coconut shell) which when used to describe a person means they are ignorant or of very limited outlook and experience. At school we all tried hard not to be branded that frog.
Toad in the Hole is nothing like ‘frog under a coconut shell’. I accepted from my early days here in England that it’s essentially sausages cooked in a batter, specifically Yorkshire pudding batter. Yorkshire pudding is an anomaly, being savoury and not sweet.
I don’t make Yorkshire pudding enough to have one standardised recipe, although I always look forward to eating it on the occasion that we have Sunday roast lunch. I would say that I have had more misses than hits, and it’s time to rectify the situation.
But where to start? I looked up a few English chefs: Gordon, James, Jamie, Delia, Nigella, Mary…and each recipe was different. What a bewildering and frustrating situation to be in. Much like the current weather in London which is neither hot nor cold, neither wet nor dry, leading to confusion as to what to wear, where to go and what to cook.
Regular readers know what I do in this situation i.e. put everything on a spreadsheet and average it out. The recipe below takes six recipes, adding up individual ingredients and then dividing the total for each ingredient by six to get the final number. I standardised the egg count to three in each recipe, and rounded the measurements for flour and milk up or down accordingly. Some recipes call for full-fat milk, some for semi-skilled milk and some added water. I am simply using semi-skimmed milk.
| Flour | Eggs | Milk | |
| Gordon | 125 g | 3 | 150 ml |
| James | 75 g | 3 | 340 ml |
| Jamie | 150 g | 3 | 150 ml |
| Delia | 260 g | 3 | 425 ml |
| Nigella | 185 g | 3 | 225 ml |
| Mary | 100 g | 3 | 225 ml |
| Total /6 | 150 g | 3 | 250 ml |
The resulting attempt was very good, and the leftovers were heated up successfully the day after. I served the Toad in the Hole very simply with some caramelised onions, griddled green beans, English mustard and Heinz tomato ketchup. There are no measurements for the beans and onions, as I was pressed for time. Still, by looking at the photos and from the recipe description, you will know how to estimate what is required. Both the onions and beans can be made ahead and served at room temperature.
For the Toad in the Hole:
Sunflower Oil
400 g – 500 g English pork sausages (around 6 – 8 sausages)
150 g plain flour
3 large eggs
250 g semi-skimmed milk
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Few twists ground black pepper
You will also need a sturdy rectangular roasting pan, around 23 x 33 cm. A little larger would be ok but not smaller, as the batter needs to spread and rise.
How to Make:
Place the flour, eggs and salt in a large bowl. Using a large hand (balloon) whisk or an electric mixer, blend until you have a very smooth paste.
Add a third of the milk into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Repeat twice, and continue whisking until the batter is smooth and lump-free. Leave aside.
Preheat the oven to 220ºC/ 200ºC fan. This will take around 10 minutes. Use this time to a) let the batter rest and b) top and tail the green beans (see below).
When the oven has heated up, place 3 – 4 tablespoons of oil in the roasting pan. Add the sausages and turn them around to coat with the oil.
Place the pan in the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Set the timer. Again, use this time to finish preparing the beans.
After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Turn over the sausages, making sure they are spread out across the pan. Pour in the batter around the sausages.
Return the pan to the oven and roast for another 25 minutes, until the sausages are brown and the batter well risen. WARNING: Do not open the oven during this time. I think my mistake in the past was to open the oven to turn the pan around for an even bake. Resist the temptation, it is not needed.
For the Beans: top and tail a quantity of green beans. Blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Refresh under cold water then pat dry. Heat a pan with some olive oil. Place the beans on the pan and press down so it takes on some colour. Turn the beans over and continue to press down. When the beans have achieved some nice grill marks, remove and place on a serving plate. Add some chopped garlic, sliced chilli and a touch more oil to the pan, stir quickly then top the beans with this, along with some flaked Maldon sea salt.
For the Caramelised Onions: Finely slice 2 large red onions, place in a glass bowl and add some balsamic vinegar (the most basic supermarket one you can find). Toss the onions in the vinegar, cover the bowl and microwave on high (800 – 900 W) for 10 minutes. Remove the now softened onions, and fry them in some olive oil. Add some dark brown soft sugar and continue stirring until the onions are really soft and caramelised.
For the diligent, here are the Yorkshire pudding recipes from:
Nigella Lawson (indirect)