Sausage cornbread recipe
You need an oven for ‘real’ toad in the hole (a British classic with savoury batter and sausages), but this recipe uses fine polenta and cooks the dish like a cornbread, flipping it in the pan to bronze, cook and crisp on each side.
Cook the sausages in the pan first, then make the cornbread batter, pouring it into the hot pan, before arranging the sausages. Use a good non-stick or cast-iron pan and get it very hot to prevent the corn batter from sticking. We like to eat this warm with tomato ketchup or chilli sauce. It’s best eaten on the day it is made – cornbread tends to dry out if left overnight.
Ingredients
- 95 g fine-ground polenta
- 75 g self-raising (self-rising) flour
- 1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
- 0.8 tsp fine salt
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 260 g full-fat natural yogurt, thinned with a little milk; or use buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp butter, plus more for ‘baking’
- 14 thin sausages or chipolatas
- 4 fried eggs, to serve (optional)
Details
- Cuisine: British-American
- Recipe Type: Sausage
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 20 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Whisk the polenta, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl.
- Add the yogurt and eggs and mix briefly to combine (don’t overwork the mixture from now on).
- Place a large cast-iron or non-stick pan over a high heat, then add the butter and heat until melted and foaming. Add the sausages and cook, turning occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until browned all over. Transfer the sausages to a large plate.
- Ensure the heat is high, add any fat in the pan to the batter in the bowl, swirling it through briefly, then add a good-size knob more of butter to the pan to sizzle and foam.
- Pour the batter into the pan and arrange the sausages on top in an even layer. Cover tightly with a lid or foil, reduce the heat to medium and cook undisturbed for 7–10 minutes, until the batter is firm and hot throughout and slightly puffed, and the base is golden brown.
- Remove from the heat and invert the toad in the hole onto a plate. Return the pan to the heat and carefully slide the toad back into the pan to colour for 3–5 minutes, until cooked and golden brown on the top and bottom.
- Cut into wedges and serve immediately with your favourite sauce and a fried egg, if you like.
This recipe is from Camper Van Cooking by Claire Thomson and Matt Williamson (Quadrille, £20). Photography: Sam Folan.
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