Chicken Sausage Toad in the Hole with Chilli and Onion

It has been quite a challenge to convince Marlini that some of the more traditional English recipes can, with a bit of adaptation, pack a decent punch in the taste and texture department. To be honest, I have never been a fan of more standard British culinary offerings. Shepherd’s pie, Cottage Pie, and Lancashire Hot pot are all dishes I have never had any pleasure from eating, and can fully understand why, for years, British Food has struggled on the culinary scene to wow international audiences. I am really privileged to have travelled some parts of the world quite extensively – not once have I seen British restaurants overseas (aside from some tourist destinations who decided to trade some of their fantastic local cuisine in favour of food for the British palate). Equally, I have never heard anyone crave British food – who themselves weren’t British or said ‘Let’s order in a British’.

I initially tried to explain the concept of Toad in the Hole to Marlini (its name alone doesn’t generate an instant appeal), and said – think sausages meets Yorkshire pudding batter (something I had certainly experimented with on numerous occasions to try and enhance in terms of flavour). The real challenge was to find sausages which were Halal (of course, this will work fine with all varieties of sausage), but also a good texture. After some searching, we discovered Halal Chick sausages from Saffron Alley, which for us are a complete game changer. The recipe is South African using a really tasty blend of herbs and spices – bland, chewy, and greasy – these are not.

Of course, I am sure that a number of sausage varieties would work just as well (I would gladly go meat free), but yet to source a variety which have the right texture profile.

As part of my standard experimentation, I really wanted to make more of the batter. Whilst I have no problem with a standard egg, milk, and flour combination, I really wanted to give more flavour and found that blending the flour in advance with additional herbs and spices really pays dividends. English mustard powder, herbs, and Aleppo Chilli flakes (I will use any opportunity to add these to any dish possible) work really well. This dish was also a great opportunity to chuck in some of our fresh Thyme growing in the garden. As ever, if you do not have the ingredients at hand – please improvise. Just because you do not have exactly what is needed to follow verbatim shouldn’t mean that you don’t make substitutes, or just simplify. I would pay attention to the ratio of flour, milk, and eggs as this will have a very definite impact on the texture of the batter.

I truly hope that you get to enjoy making this chicken sausage Toad in the Hole recipe with Chilli and onion, and for Marlini and I is perfect winter fuel as the colder nights set it. It works really well with spiced reg cabbage, a salad, peas or a mash of your choice. Following our trip to Edinburgh in February, we became hooked on mashed suede and found this to work really well.

Chicken Sausage Toad in the Hole with Chilli and Onion

Richard Bewley

A tasty alternative to a standard 'sausage meets Yorkshire pudding batter'

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main

Cuisine Central European

Servings 3 people

Ingredients

  

Toad in the Hole Batter

• 105 grams plain white flour sieved
• 3 large eggs at room temperature and beaten
• 150 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tsp English mustard powder heaped
• 0.5 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes
• 1 small sprig fresh thyme strip leaves from stem

Toad in the Hole

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 large white onion halved and finely sliced, horizontally
• 1 medium red onion halved and finely sliced, horizontally
• 2 large cloves garlic crushed, grated, or finely chopped
• 1 whole chilli (red or green) finely chopped
• 6 chicken sausages pricked on both sides with a tip of a sharp knife

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat oven to 185 degrees Celsius
• Coat bottom and sides of baking dish with 1 tbsp sunflower oil using silicone brush
  2 tbsp sunflower oil
• Halve and finely slice red and white onions, and add to the baking dish
  1 large white onion, 1 medium red onion
• Grate (or finely dice) garlic, and fineless dice chilli and mix in with onions
  2 large cloves garlic, 1 whole chilli (red or green)
• Add remaining sunflower oil, half of the fresh thyme, season generously with salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly.
  1 small sprig fresh thyme
• Arrange the chicken sausages on top, and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  6 chicken sausages

The Batter

• In a mixing bowl, combine the sieved flour, mustard powder, Aleppo pepper, season generously with salt and pepper, and mix with a bell whisk.
  105 grams plain white flour, 1 tsp English mustard powder, 0.5 tsp Aleppo pepper flakes
• Create a well in the flour mixture, pour in the beaten eggs, and whisk until all lumps have gone.
  3 large eggs
• Gradually pour in the milk, whisking as you go, until you have a smooth and lump-free batter.
  150 ml semi-skimmed milk

Final Steps

• Remove baking dish from oven, and increase heat to 210-220 degrees Celsius
• Rotate sausages 180 degrees so that the baked skin side is now underneath
• Carefully pour the batter around the chicken sausages, ensuring that the onion-based base is covered. Place the remaining thyme leaves in the batter.
• Return baking dish to oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the batter has risen and is golden brown in colour.