If you don’t have Yorkshire pudding tins, you could make one large toad in the hole instead in a roasting tin or ovenproof dish – it will take 30-35 minutes to cook.
SERVES 4-8
COOK TIME 35-40 minutes
8 sausages
100g (4oz) plain flour
3 large eggs
150ml (5fl oz) milk
3 tbsp sunflower oil
FOR THE ONION GRAVY
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, very thinly sliced
2 tbsp plain flour
450ml (15fl oz) beef stock
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp balsamic vinegar
a few drops of gravy browning
1 You will need two four-hole Yorkshire pudding tins. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
2 Put the sausages in a shallow roasting tin and roast in the oven for 20 minutes until browned on one side.
3 Measure the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the eggs and beat with a whisk, gradually combining to make a paste, then slowly add the milk until you have a smooth, fairly runny batter (see tip).
4 Pour 1 teaspoon oil into the base of each mould and heat until piping hot. Divide the batter into the tins, pouring into the oil. Place a sausage, browned-side down, in the middle of each and bake for 15-18 minutes until risen and golden.
5 Meanwhile, to make the gravy, heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion over a high heat for 1-2 minutes. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes until softened. Add the flour, stirring it in for 30 seconds, then gradually blend in the stock, mixing until smooth and lump-free (see tips). Bring to the boil, then add the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and gravy browning.
6 Serve the toads piping hot with the onion gravy.
PREPARE AHEAD
♥ The batter can be made up to 8 hours ahead. The onion gravy can be made up to a day in advance.
MARY’S CLASSIC TIPS
♥ Once the batter is made, put it into a jug to make it easier to pour out into the pudding tins later.
♥ It’s important to gradually blend the stock into the flour for the onion gravy to get a really smooth paste. It’s trickier to check if the lumps here are flour or onion pieces, so give it a really good mix to make sure no doughy lumps remain.