Toad in a Hole, and Grain-Free Yorkshire Pudding!

Good morning!

Today, I have a great recipe for any meal of the day - toad in a hole!

Toad in a Hole!

I always used to call eggs in a basket toad in a hole. Inspired by Lillian's Test Kitchen, I looked up both terms and guess what - I've been saying it wrong all this time! Toad in a hole usually refers to sausages baked into yorkshire pudding, an amazingly simple and delicious treat for which I did not until now have a name. Egg in a basket (which does have lots of different names, and I'm not the only one calling it toad in a hole) is that thing we all grew up eating - an egg fried in the middle of a piece of bread. Now I know!

If you're looking for a super-easy grain-free bread recipe and the method for turning it into egg in a basket, check out Lillian's video.

If you are looking for a delicious Yorkshire pudding that can easily become a whole meal on its own, hang out right here! For a regular Yorkie to accompany a roast, just skip the sausages and serve with plenty of veggie sides.

Yorkshire Pudding

The first thing you have to do is get out your cast iron skillet, put it in the oven, and preheat to 400 degrees. You want your oven and skillet to be really hot, so do that first. It's okay - I'll wait.

Okay, now gather your ingredients.

1 - 2 T rendered beef fat (or chicken fat, or goose fat leftover from the holidays)
3 eggs
2-3 T coconut milk, or Coconut Manna melted and thoroughly mixed with some beef stock, chicken stock, or water
2 T arrowroot starch, also known as arrowroot powder or arrowroot flour
Pinch salt
Seasonings of choice, optional
One or two fresh or smoked sausages. Any kind you like will do, from pork breakfast sausages to good quality hot dogs from your local farmer to turkey Italian sausages. Just make sure they're not frozen.

Put the fat in the skillet in the oven so it can get nice and hot. Don't use vegetable oil or whole butter; they will be damaged by all the heat. Rendered fat is best, but refined coconut oil (not virgin) and ghee (not whole butter) work too.
In a big bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs, arrowroot, salt, and any spices you might want. Ground mustard seed is great, but this is also great without any added seasoning. Let rest until your pan is really hot - about 20 minutes.

If you're using fresh, raw sausages, add them to the pan in the oven and let them start cooking, about ten minutes. If your sausages are smoked or leftover from another meal, you can skip that step.

Now carefully take the pan out of the oven, pour in the batter with the sausages, and put it back in the oven. Bake about 20 minutes. It will puff up and turn wonderfully golden during this time.

It may deflate a little when it comes out, but it should keep most of its shape.

This size pan will serve one very hungry, active person if this is all you're eating. It will serve two or more people who have a bunch of veggie accompaniments.

The Best Toad in a Hole You've Ever Had

Enjoy with gravy, soup, homemade sauerkraut, mustard, or just exactly as it is!

Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone! I'll be at the Somerville Winter Farmers Market from 10 - 2, promoting Cuisine en Locale's upcoming event, Valhalla. Swing by and say hi! Have a cookie! I baked them especially for you. (They are not GF - at CeL we use all local ingredients including local wheat and oats. At my company, Rather Crafty, I specialize in GF, grain free, and special diets. At my other job at CeL, we specialize in 100% local, and that does include wheat. At both companies, we avoid soy, peanuts, fake food, and weird additives of all kinds. Two approaches to Awesome Real Food!)

Love,
Chef Mary