Toad in the hole

Ingredients

• 225 g plain flour
• pinches sugar
• pinches freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• about 275 ml milk
• 25 g dripping
• 8 best-quality, locally sourced pork sausages, pricked with a fork
• salad or steamed green vegetables, to serve

For the onion gravy

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 600 ml dark stock
• dash gravy, browning

  Method

  1. Sieve the flour, sugar and grated nutmeg into a bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Make a well in the centre and break in the eggs.
  
  2. Using a hand-held whisk, start to slowly incorporate the eggs. Then, while continuing to whisk slowly, add the milk. You may need a little extra milk – the batter should be the consistency of double cream. Whisk thoroughly to ensure there are no lumps of flour in the mixture.
  
  3. Put the batter in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour.
  
  4. For the onion gravy: heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan, add the onion and cook until soft, but not coloured.
  
  5. Stir in the mustard, then pour in the stock. Bring the mixture to the boil, then stir in a dash of gravy browning. Reduce for 10 minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half.
  
  6. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Put a 30 x 20 x 6cm roasting tin in the oven to get really hot.
  
  7. Add the dripping and the sausages to the hot tin and return to the oven. Shake the roasting tin frequently to keep the sausages moving, till they are coloured all over and the fat in the tin is really hot.
  
  8. Remove the batter from the fridge, give it a quick whisk and, when the sausages are evenly coloured, remove the tin from the oven and immediately pour the batter over the hot sausages in the tin – the batter should really sizzle.
  
  9. Return the tin to the oven immediately and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until the batter is well risen and golden.
  
  10. Serve immediately with onion gravy and either a salad or a green vegetable or mashed potato.