Toad in the Hole with onion ale gravy

There is no better way to celebrate St George's Day than with this comforting classic. I have packed in plenty of English ingredients to add extra flavour and patriotism.

My overseas visitors need not worry, no amphibians were harmed in the making of this dish although a few sausages did fall upon St George's sword.

Ingredients (serves 2)

6 good quality pork sausages (the toads)
vegetable oil

Batter (The hole):

• 75g plain flour
• 1 large egg
• 75ml milk
• 55ml ale (I used Spitfire)
• 1tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• salt and white pepper

Onion gravy:

• knob of butter
• 225g onion, peeled and finely sliced
• 1tsp dark brown sugar
• 1tsp HP sauce
• 1/2tsp Marmite
• 1 bay leaf
• 300ml stock (beef, chicken or vegetable)
• 125ml ale 
• 2 tsp cornflour

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220c and add enough vegetable oil to two oven proof dishes (approx 15cm x 10 cm) to cover the bottom about 0.5cm deep.
2. Place these on a tray in the oven to heat
3. Add about a tbsp of oil to a non stick pan and fry the sausages over a high heat to colour on all sides
4. Once they have a good colour, remove, cut in half widthwise and set aside (they do not need to be cooked through)
5. Sieve the flour, salt, pepper and mustard powder high over a large bowl to allow it access to plenty of air, then add the chopped rosemary
6. Measure 55ml ale in a measuring jug then add the milk so that the total liquid is 130ml
7. Make a well in the flour and crack the egg into the centre and whisk, slowly pouring in the liquid (An electric hand whisk is best for this) making sure no dry ingredients are left around the sides of the bowl
8. Remove the dishes from the oven, which should now be piping hot. Quickly but carefully place the sausages in the hot oil. Top up each with the batter mix and cook in the oven for 30 minutes (DO NOT open the oven door during this time)
9. Add the knob of butter to the pan that the sausages were cooked in, season and gently fry the onions for 10 minutes
10. Stir in the sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes
11. Add the HP sauce, Marmite, ale and stock and bring to the boil, stirring well
12. Mix the cornflour with a little water or ales and stir this in. Simmer gently on a low heat until the rest is cooked.

Place your Toad in the Hole on a plate, top with the onion gravy and serve with some peas (English of course)

Tally Ho!