In my continued quest to learn more about my new home and its various gastro delights, I took the opportunity to experiment a bit while the Beautiful Competition is out of town by making Toad in the Hole, a dish that sounds like some kind of vague innuendo. There is some debate about what Toad in the Hole actually is: I used the UK definition to mean 'sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding.' Which, for my fellow Yanks, is not actually pudding, it's a kind of roll or bread made from something very similar to pancake batter.I went with BitchBuzz's Toad in the Hole recipe altering it slightly: I used a pre-made Yorkshire Pudding batter, and I think I screwed up the measurements a bit and made more than I should have. But it's not hard: brown the sausages by baking them for 25 minutes, then pour your batter in the pan and bake it for another 25 minutes. Bam. Toad in the Hole. Serve with mash(ed potatoes) and some gravy - I used a pre-made beef gravy - and pair it with something British. I opted for a medium dry Somerset cider for its sweetness.
Learnings: I don't think I left it in long enough - it's supposed to look a lot more brown than it ended up being and it's not 'crispy' as much as it is 'vaguely pancake-like.' Also, I'm going to mix some salt in with the batter because it's pretty bland without it.
My next British cooking adventure - whenever that might be - will feature partridge, because I want to cook something that's basically a pigeon.
2 comments:
The oven also needs to be hotter than for almost anything else you might cook. Traditionally, the fat or oil you've put in the dish should be practically smoking before you put the batter in.
Oh, and I like it with Brown Sauce (a sort of ketchup, if you haven't already come across it - try HP).
Ah, I can see brown sauce making this a whole lot better. The oven was at 200 but I may put it on 220 next time. Thanks for the suggestion!
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