Sausages Part One: Toad in the Hole

This is something that is quintessentially British. And goodness knows why it remains so because it is such a delicious speciment that I struggle greatly without it. It's amazing becuase you can increase the ratio to serve several at a dinner party of you can scale it down for two to have as a mega treat. This goes with some wonderful standards like honey glazed parnsips, tyhme roasted carrots, cabbage and best of all, onion sauce/chutney/gravy/reduction. This is mostly Yorkshire Pudding, accented with some succulent sausages (becuase sausages always have to be succulent don't they). You can try and make this fancy, but as someone who is half Yorkshire I can tell you there aren't too many fancy things that come out of this part of the land - apart from maybe Taylors of Harrogate and Bettys Cafe Tea Room - but the exports they have been kind enough to bestow on the rest of us are incredible. Rhubarb. There's another one.

Anyway, on with the show:

I work on a ratio of two sausages per person, however, you know what to do if you have a hungry crowd. To make the above you will need:

1/4 pint milk

60g plain flour

pinch of salt

two eggs

sausages

sprigs of fresh rosemary

duck/goose fat

The size and shape of your tin will affect the batter greatly, if you have a large loaf tin then great (I don't, can I have yours?) otherwise find something that everything will fit into, that is narrow but not confining.

Preheat the oven on its highest setting. Mix all the batter ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Start with the flour and salt, beat the eggs into it one by one then pour the milk in slowly and gradually, continually whisking to avoid lumps. Set to one side to let it rest.

You will need about two table spoons of the fat in your baking dish. Put it in the tin to heat up in a pre-heated oven. When the fat is at full heat add your sausages to colour slightly. When they are no longer looking anemic (very carefully) take the tin out of the oven and pour your batter over the sausages and scatter the rosemary springs about. Put back in the oven and do not open it for at least 20 minutes. The Yorkshires will need the heat to help them rise and should be cooked at this point. If it's looking a little brown then turn the over down and keep them cooking.

This is truly a dish that gets better every time you make it, so get started and watch them become better and better each time you make it.