Toad in the Veg Patch
The oven roasted vegetables and sausages along with the batter flavoured with mustard and rosemary are delicious!
Ingredients
- 125g carrots peeled, halved and cut into wedges
- 1 red onion cut into 8 wedges
- olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 sausages
- 125g tenderstem broccoli tough bottom stalks peeled off, trimmed and halved lengthways
- 16 cherry tomatoes
- 160g fresh peas in pods trimmed and cut into halves or thirds, on the diagonal (optional - see Tips)
For the batter:
- 150ml milk
- 110g plain flour
- 1 tsp English mustard powder
- a pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 150ml water
- rosemary 1 sprig, leaves picked and roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. First, make the batter – tip the milk, flour, mustard powder, salt, eggs and water into a blender/liquidiser (this won’t work in a food processor) and briefly whizz together until just combined. Stir in the rosemary leaves and set aside.
- Put the carrots and red onion into a large, shallow roasting tin. Drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables. Spread everything out into a single layer, then nestle the sausages in among the veg. Roast at the top of the oven for 15 minutes.
- Turn over the vegetables and sausages, add the broccoli and roast for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and scatter over the cherry tomatoes and fresh peas (optional - see Tips).
- Give the batter a quick stir, then pour it over the sausages and vegetables. Return to the oven for a further 25 to 30 minutes or until the batter has risen and is deep golden brown.
- Serve with some extra sprigs of rosemary, and mustard (optional).
Notes
- This recipe can be varied in so many ways…change the veg, for example: chunks of courgette, aubergine, butternut squash, sweet potato or red pepper, or how about fresh or frozen peas or broad beans. Choose any type of sausages you fancy, for example: fat, thin, flavoured or even wrapped in bacon!
- We have fresh peas in my veg patch so I decided to add some at step 3, along with the cherry tomatoes.
- This toad in the veg patch recipe is easily adapted if you’re cooking for less or more people.