Vegetarian Toad in the Hole

This is a vegetarian version of the classic autumn dish of toad in the hole. As vegetarian sausages have far less fat than their meat based relatives it's necessary to add a bit of oil to make sure it doesn't stick.
 

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 vegetarian sausages
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 80g plain flour
• 1 egg
• 135ml milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
2. Place the sausages and oil in a large ovenproof dish, pyrex or thick ceramic works best.
3. Place in oven and roast for 15 minutes.
4. While they are roasting in the oven, mix the flour, egg and half the milk in a bowl or jug. Whisk with a fork until it's a smooth paste.
5. Add the remaining milk to the mixture, season with salt and pepper and mix until a smooth batter is formed. It's best to add the milk in two lots to prevent lumps from forming. You can do it all in one go, but you'll end up whisking it far more to get rid of the lumps.
6. Remove the sausages from the oven and pour the batter over them.
7. Return to the oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Try to not open the oven door as the batter will crisp best if it's kept very hot.
8. Once the batter has risen and gone a wonderful brown, remove from the oven and serve. I recommend with gravy and peas.

 
Serves 2.