Holed Out

One of the more pleasant aspects of lockdown was discovering some local food shops with plentiful and tasteful produce not available in the main supermarkets. Just a short Dogg walk across the fields from my home and located at the top of the drive to a old-world farm is Stretton Hall Farm. This place serves fresh meat, eggs of various types, exotic cheese, bakery produce of all kinds, chutney, jam and things for your Festive Hamper. They also sell other types of food and I'd heartily recommend their flavoursome and reasonably priced produced to anyone. A link to their website is at: https://www.facebook.com/strettonhallfarmshop/ 

Prior to restrictions coming back in, and thanks to a longstanding friend I first met twenty-six years ago, I was lucky enough to go to a gig by an excellent tribute band for the band Rush. They are called Bravado and having been to a gig by the real Rush I can tell you Bravado sound as close to the real thing as you can get. Why not check them out at: https://www.planetbravado.com/ 

As a result a few Saturdays ago I had my Rush collection on heavy rotation to remind myself of the wonderful gig and just what a great band Rush were and their grand legacy. The album I was listening to, when making an innovative Toad in the Hole recipe, was their live compilation covering gigs from 1997, 1994 and 1978 called "Different Stages" . The album was released in 1998. The first two discs capture the band in 1997 and one track in 1994 and show them to be a slick, well-oiled outfit who play with passion. The third disc includes songs from a gig at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1978 and shows the band as a rawer, heavier outfit. Both incarnations of the band showcased on the collection are peerless however and can be checked out at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA2K7Uhu9TwANSOSlERMZHUkdF1Ihe7CG 

The recipe for the meal I made was as follows:

Four Tomato Sausages purchased from Stretton Hall Farm Shop. 

200 grams of Plain Flour.

25 grams of Self-Raising Flour.

2 beaten Eggs from Stretton Hall Farm Shop. 

2.5 cups (or 600 mil of Skimmed Milk) 

1 teaspoon of  Chopped Fresh Rosemary.

1 teaspoon of Chopped Fresh Thyme. 

The method went like this:

1. Put the Flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle of it. 

2. Add the Rosemary and Thyme. 

3. Add the Eggs and stir them into the Flour and the Herbs one by one. 

4. Add the Milk steadily stirring it in bit by bit until a paste is formed that now forms the batter mixture. Leave the batter mixture in the bowl and put in the refrigerator for around three hours to help it solidify. 

5.  Fry the Sausages on a medium heat in Sunflower Oil for around five minutes until all sides are brown then put to one side. 

6. Put the batter mixture in a baking tray lined with Sunflower Oil and Unsalted Butter. 

7. Add the sausages to the batter mixture. 

8. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes at Gas Mark 7.

9. Remove from the oven and serve with gravy and a side of vegetables. I used Lentil and Purple Sage Gravy with steamed Carrot and Leek. 

This meal took the sometimes bland recipe of Toad in the Hole to another place. The presence of the self-raising flour gave the batter extra body while the herbs made it very flavoursome and complemented well the Tomatoes contained in the tasteful sausages.