Toad in the Hole

Ingredients

• 8 good pork sausages
• 140g plain flour
• 4 large eggs
• 200ml whole milk
• 50ml cold water
• 3 tbsp beef dripping or sunflower oil
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 25g butter
• 1 tbsp plain flour for the gravy
• 400ml beef stock
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Black pepper

Before you cook

• Whisk the flour and salt in a large jug, then beat in the eggs until you have a stiff smooth paste.
• Gradually whisk in the milk and water until the batter is the consistency of single cream.
• Cover the batter and leave it to rest at room temperature for at least thirty minutes.
• Slice the onions thinly for the gravy.

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 220C fan.
2. Put the dripping into a metal roasting tin about 30cm by 20cm and slide it into the oven for five minutes until the fat is smoking.
3. Pull out the tin, lay the sausages in the hot fat and turn them to coat.
4. Roast the sausages for fifteen minutes, turning once halfway, until they are browned on two sides.
5. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-low heat and add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt.
6. Cook the onions for twenty minutes, stirring every few minutes, until they are soft, sticky and deep brown.
7. Stir the tablespoon of flour into the onions and cook for one minute.
8. Pour in the stock a splash at a time, stirring after each addition so no lumps form.
9. Add the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar and simmer the gravy for ten minutes until it thickens, then season with black pepper and keep it warm.
10. Give the rested batter a brisk whisk to loosen it.
11. Take the roasting tin from the oven and set it on the hob over medium heat so the fat stays screaming hot.
12. Pour the batter around the sausages in one confident stream.
13. Return the tin to the oven immediately and bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes without opening the door.
14. Check that the batter has risen high at the edges and is crisp and dark gold before removing the tin.
15. Cut into squares and serve straight away with the onion gravy poured over.