WHAT'S FOR DINNER #2

WHAT'S FOR DINNER #2

Toad in the hole, bubble and squeak and beans - part off line

Wow what can be more British than that lineup?  Read on for crispy foolproof yorkie recipe, a simple 'bubble and squeak is not just for Christmas' and how to make budget beans taste better than the super brands. 

First the list of roughly what you need:

Bangers

Plain flour

Milk/water

Eggs

Garlic

Spuds

Greens

Onion

Value beans

Butter

Now what to do with it all:

Nice and easy this one. Firstly peel and chop the spuds and get them on the stove. Cut up the greens (spring greens, kale savoy cabbage any will do as long as its nice and green) and slice up the onion, set both aside. 

Next, the foolproof yorkies. As its baking you will need to measure out the three ingredients. Luckily this is a recipe by volume not weight so its a sinch. Use an egg per portion and crack them to into a mug or glass. Take a mental note of where it comes up to the side and transfer to a mixing bowl. Using the same glass/mug measure plain flour to the same level that the egg was. Add to the eggs in the bowl and measure the same quantity of milk/water (50/50). Give this a good old beating with a whisk for a minute. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and its done. Its the same for Yorkshire puddings for your Sunday roast, just equal quantities by volume of flour, eggs and liquid. 

Put the bangers in a tray (non stick or glass seems best, but I managed it with a couple of take away trays that I bought for painting). Add a splash of oil and a clove of garlic, I like a sprig of thyme as well. Get this nice and hot in the oven before pouring over the batter mix (minus the thyme if you used). It will take about 25 minutes to cook but keep an eye on it and adjust the heat accordingly. 

Back to the spuds that should nearly be cooked, chuck the cabbage in and give it a gentle stir and put back on the heat. In a large frying pan fry the onions. The spuds/cabbage are now ready. Drain, and return it to the pan over a low heat for a few minutes to dry out a bit. As soon as it is dryer add to the frying pan with the onions and give it a good fry up. 

Lastly the beans. In my opinion the only real difference between the super brands and budge version is that the quantity of tomato sauce in the cheapies is greater so when they are heated and served they end up running all over the plate. So just drain some of the tomato sauce off and heat them up slowly with a small knob of butter and a generous crunch of fresh pepper. 

That's it, by the time the beans are warm the bubble and squeak should be browning off and the toad in the hole should have risen and be crispy on the outside but still nice and soft at the bottom. Finding the chewy roast garlic clove is a real bonus, I bet next time you make it there will be a few more hidden in there.