Quercy Food Experiences
Eating, drinking and generally having a good time in France
Max’s Yankee Toad in the Hole with Creamy Pancetta Gravy
This is a recipe for Max, George’s little brother who lives next and who does an amazing velociraptor impression. Max doesn’t like sauces- so he may not appreciate the gravy….but that is optional (and I think George might like the gravy).
My inspiration for this was a marriage of a classic Brit comfort food, Toad in the Hole, with a nostalgic Yank childhood favourite, Corn Dogs….which along with cotton candy and funnel cakes were a fairground staple when I was growing up. But – unlike funnel cakes and cotton candy… corn dogs were actually as good as you remembered.
Toad
- 8 good big meaty pork sausages
- 1 can corn (200g, but if you love corn, by all means add more)
- 1 ½ cups cornmeal
- ½ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 T sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Gravy
- 100g pancetta – chopped
- 3 T groundnut oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 3T all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- ¼ tsp salt
- few grinds of black pepper
- 1-2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 dashes of Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper, or other hot sauce (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200C. Brown the sausages and set aside. Make the cornbread batter – in a bowl stir together the dry ingredients, in a separate bowl mix the egg and butter milk together, then add the melted butter. Mix the dry in ingredients the wet ingredients. Put your baking dish (the dish I use is 10×8) in the oven with 2T groundnut oil for ~5 min to heat up oil. When the oil is hot, take out the dish, dump in the can of corn, then add the cornbread batter. Top with your sausages – then put it all in the oven for 25 minutes, or until cornbread looks lightly golden brown.
While the ‘toad’ is cooking make your gravy. Heat the groundnut oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the onion and pancetta and sauté until inion soft and pancetta is beginning to crisp up, ~5-7 minutes. Add the flour and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the Worcestershire, salt and tabasco, then slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Once all the milk is in, stir occasionally for about 10-15 minutes until the gravy has thickened.
Et voila….serve your toad with the gravy (and maybe a bit of mustard)…and some sautéed greens and you have a pretty scrummy meal!
Quercy Food Experiences 