It’s autumn, obviously it’s SAUSAGES

Two recipes this month – and they’re both personal favourites which feature regularly as part of our family meals. Both are simple to whip up, taking 30 to 45 minutes from start to finish; perfect to pull together for a wonderful autumnal weekend evening meal with family or friends.
The Toad in the Hole recipe is one I have used for years, but of course there are many versions of a Yorkshire pudding – some with water and milk, some with more eggs, some with much less flour. This recipe tends to produce Yorkshire puddings that have a crispy top and bottom, and a thick pudding-like middle. If you prefer a lighter Yorkshire, then just use 2 or 3oz less flour.
The Sausage and Baked Bean Pie recipe is so simple, with just three ingredients, and I use ready-made
pastry on purpose. I don’t think the hour or more spent making the puff pastry from scratch
is worth the extra effort for something that takes just five delicious minutes to scoff down! – Heather

Sausage and Baked Bean Pie

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 8 sausages
• Two 400g tins of baked beans
• 1 packet of ready rolled puff pastry
• 1 egg to egg wash or some milk.

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas 6/200º/180º fan.
2. Slice the skins of the sausages and remove the sausage meat.
3. Break the now-skinless sausages into small pieces, about 2cm long, and place them into an ovenproof dish.
4. Tip into the dish the baked beans and stir together.
5. Carefully unroll the pastry from its packet and place over the top, pressing down the edges.
6. Make a small hole in the centre.
7. Brush with beaten egg or milk.
8. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Toad in the Hole

The name may refer to the way toads wait for their prey in their burrows, making their heads visible in the earth, just like the sausages peep through the batter.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2tbsp oil
• 8 sausages
• 2 eggs
• 9oz plain flour (I use 00 grade flour)
• about 200ml milk

Directions

1. Pour the oil into the base of your oven proof dish which needs to be large enough to fit the sausages with about an inch of space around each one. Place the dish with the oil into the oven so the oil gets hot.
2. Into a large bowl, measure out the flour and then add the two eggs. Pour in about a third of the milk and whisk together, making sure to get rid of all the lumps of flour.
3. Add the milk to the mix, a splosh at a time, whisking in between, until the mixture is the consistency of a good milkshake. It doesn’t need to be an exact science here though – a thicker mixture simply results in a stodgier Yorkshire pudding. Eggs aren’t all the same weight, so if 200ml of milk is still too thick, then add a bit more. If you end up with something that is more the consistency of water, just add a little flour to thicken it back up a bit.
4. Carefully take out the hot dish from the oven and place the sausages, equally spaced, into the dish.
5. Pour the Yorkshire batter over the sausages.
6. Place back into the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes until golden and crispy on the top.
7. Serve immediately!