What a toad-aly hole-some meal.

Well, when my (vegetarian) sister said we wouldn't be able to go to her house for dinner, I turned to my other (non-vegetarian) sister and said "Come to mine."

It was an excuse to make something with gratuitous meat in it. Just for fun. Oh, and lard too.

Not that there's anything wrong with being vegetarian (or vegan or pescatarian or pescapollotarian or whatever) but sometimes meat is fun. Turducken anyone?

So I went with Toad-In-The-Hole - which is not as gratuitous as it could be, but it's still meat in a yorkshire pudding, or as Special-Toad-In-The-Hole has it:- sausages wrapped in ham in a Yorkshire pudding covered in lard.



Mmmm, mmmm

TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE

INGREDIENTS. - 1 lb. of beefsteak (cut up small)
4 oz. of flour
1/2 a pint of milk
egg
salt
dripping

METHOD. - Mix the flour, milk, egg, and a little salt in a smooth batter.
Put in a Yorkshire pudding-tin sufficient dripping to form a thin layer when melted, pour in about a quarter of the batter, and bake until set.
Then add the meat, season it with salt and pepper, pour in the remainder fo the batter, bake quickly until it has risen and set, and then more slowly until sufficiently cooked.
Cut and serve in squares arranged neatly overlapping each other on a hot dish.

TIME. - To bake, about 1 hour. SUFFICIENT for 3 or 4 persons.



But what I've done here is use a different recipe, which oddly enough came with my electric beaters.

special toad in the hole (you can tell it's a modern recipe due to the lack of capitalisation.)

ingredients
175g (6 oz) plain flour
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
200ml (7 floz) milk
200ml (7 floz) water
45ml (3 tbsp) fresh chopped mixed herbs, such as parsley, rosemary and thyme
8 good pork sausages of your choice
8 slices Parma ham
25g (1 oz) lard
15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
2 red onions, sliced

method
Place the flour, salt, eggs and milk in a large bowl. Using the mixer beat for approx. 1 minutes, until well blended. Then with the beater still running gradually add the water and herbs, until blended. Leave batter to stand for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 22oC, 425oF, Gas Mark 7. Wrap each sausage in a slice of Parma ham. Place the sausages and lard in a large shallow roasting tin and bake for 10 minutes, until very hot.
Remove the roasting tin from the oven, pour in the batter and bake for 30-40 minutes, until well risen and golden.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until caramelised. Remove the tin from the oven, scatter onions over and serve.

Prep. time 15 mins; Cook time 40 mins
Serves 4 people

I thought it was pretty darn tasty. Also, my first true lard experience which was exciting. Although now I have 225 g of lard in the fridge just waiting for the next experiment.