Invite the gang
The last series of Peaky Blinders is on our television screens. To coincide with the show’s final fling, the Official Peaky Blinders Cookbook has just been released.
Toad in the Hole
You will need an oven dish, measuring roughly 25 x 20cm/10 x 8in
SERVES 4
Ingredients
• 8 good-quality pork sausages
• 8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
• 1 large red onion, thickly sliced
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked
• steamed greens (peas and runner beans would be
good), to serve
For the batter
• 175g plain flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 250ml full-fat milk
• 8 sage leaves, roughly chopped
For the gravy
• 20g butter
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon light brown soft sugar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 300ml chicken stock
• 3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• salt and ground black pepper
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. To make the batter, mix all the batter ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Leave the batter somewhere warm.
Wrap each sausage in a rasher of streaky bacon. Place the wrapped sausages into the oven dish with the red onion, sprinkle in the vegetable oil and toss everything together. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the bacon starts to crisp.
Pour the batter into the dish, scatter over the rosemary leaves and bake for a further 30-35 minutes (without opening the oven door for at least the first 25 minutes), until the batter is puffed-up, crisp and golden.
While the toad in the hole is baking, make the gravy. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the onion and fry for about 7-10 minutes. Add the sugar and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, until the onion starts to brown.
Pour in the vinegar and cook for one minute, then stir in the flour. Pour in the chicken stock, stir, and add the thyme leaves. Simmer the gravy for 15 minutes, until it is thickened and glossy. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Turn off the heat and set the gravy aside to keep warm until the toad in the hole is ready. Serve together with buttered steamed greens on the side. • 3 eggs
• 150g self-raising flour, sifted
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons raspberry jam
• a couple of handfuls of fresh raspberries or a few
spoonfuls of jam , to serve (optional
For the custard
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3½ tablespoons full-fat milk
• 3-4 tablespoons brandy
METHOD
Upturn a ramekin and place it in the bottom of a large saucepan with a lid. This is going to be your steamer.
Using an electric hand whisk, beat the butter and sugar together until very light and pale – almost mousse-like. Add one egg and one tablespoon of the flour and whisk again.
Add a second egg and another tablespoon of flour, whisk, then add the last egg and another tablespoon of the flour and whisk again.
Fold in the last of the flour and add the lemon zest. Now stir in the jam, just so you have a ripple effect. Pour the batter into the prepared pudding bowl.
Cover the top with a disk of baking paper so that the paper overhangs the sides of the bowl and secure it round the rim with string.
Place the pudding into the pan, on top of the ramekin. Pour in cold water so that it comes almost to the base of the pudding bowl and place the pan over a low heat with the lid on.
Steam the pudding for about one hour, until cooked through (check the water level from time to time and top up with boiling water if the pan looks a bit dry).
Once the pudding has been steaming for about 50 minutes, start the custard. Place the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla into a heat-resistant bowl set over a small pan of simmering water.
Make sure the water does not come into contact with the base of the bowl. Whisk the egg mixture over the water until it’s light, fluffy and thickened (about five minutes). Whisk in the milk and then the brandy until combined. Remove the bowl from the heat and pour the custard into a jug.
Remove the pudding bowl from the pan, untie the string and remove the baking paper. Place a serving plate on top of the bowl, and, protecting your hands with a towel, invert the pudding on to the plate.
Serve with the custard and a few fresh raspberries or spoonfuls of jam, too, if you like.
■ The Official Peaky Blinders Cookbook, published by White Lion, is priced £14.99.