What is Toad-in-the-Hole?

This week we’re cooking with “The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook” and giving away a copy to one lucky reader. (To enter, click here)

For this cookbook review, I wanted to try out dishes that would be new to our family. Since the cookbook was developed by two British authors, I found several recipes that are not typically found in American home kitchens. How about Yorkshire Pudding, Fish Pie or Bubble and Squeak? I decided to start with Toad-in-the-Hole.

Let me start by saying that Toad-in-the-Hole was a big hit at our family dinner table, but it is not what I had always thought it was. I grew up thinking that Toad-in-the-Hole was a breakfast dish – a piece of pan-fried toast with a hole cut out of the center for an over easy egg. I guess that dish is more commonly called Egg-in-the-basket or Egg-in-the-hole.

Henry devours this Toad-in-the-Hole.

Toad-in-the-Hole is a traditional English recipe that consists of sausages baked in a popover pastry. I even found British bangers at our local grocery store to use in this recipe. I served it with a side of balsamic roasted vegetables which was a perfect complement. I split the sausages in half to help them cool and make them easier for Henry to grasp, but no other modifications were needed for Henry to fully participate in this meal.

We forgot Henry's bib, but this recipe did not require much clean-up.

Henry had a terrific time eating both the sausage and the pastry. Toward the end of our meal, he was seeking out all the little bits he had dropped and popping them in his mouth. Daddy even said we should add this recipe to our regular fall/winter rotation.

That was delicious!

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