Toad in the Hole is one of my favourite dishes. The one in the picture may look slightly different to most Toads in the Hole because I’ve used chipolata sausages rather than the usual ‘six to a pound’ size sausages. The reason for this is that I prefer beef sausages in my Toad in the Hole to the more usual pork. In the past I was able to buy superb full size beef sausages from a stall holder on my local Farmers’ Market but he’s now retired and is no more. Now the only decent tasting ones I can find are Waitrose Beef Chipolatas and sadly they don’t do a full size version.

For the batter I beat together 140g plain flour, 4 eggs, 200ml milk and salt and pepper. The first rule of good Yorkshire Pudding and therefore Toad in the Hole making is to keep everything very hot all the time. The second is that it will never work in a china or glass Pyrex dish it must be a metal dish, the heavier the better (see rule one, as the ingredients are added to a heavy dish it wont cool down so much).

Put a generous amount of beef dripping if you have it, otherwise sunflower oil, into the pan and place in the oven at 220C until it is truly hot. I then add the sausages for a few minutes so that things comply with rule one and the sausages warm a bit and wont cool the batter when it’s added. Next remove the dish from the oven and place it on the stove over a medium heat before pouring in the batter. Return to the oven for about 25 minutes.

I eat Toad in the Hole with a rich onion gravy and some freshly boiled greens such as curly kale. Make sure these are ready by the the time the Toad in the Hole is cooked because it does not improve by being kept hanging around.