Toddler toadie and really yummy caramelised onion gravey
I already have one toad in the hole recipe on my blog that is suitable for young babies as it uses mince pork to make small sausage patties and therefore has no salt – an average sausage has 1g of salt, way too much for an under 1 year old (yes under 1s can have up to 1g salt per day, but I wouldn’t do that in one hit, plus anyone who says an under 1 would never eat a whole sausage is telling a big fat fib). However, once your baby reaches 1 then using sausages becomes more doable, although I would still limit this to an occasional treat, and I would still remove the skin, as I do in this recipe, to reduce the choking risk. Gravy is an essential with toad in the hole, but generally ready made gravy granules are again pretty high in salt content, so I have developed a really yummy caramelised onion gravy that is loads lower in salt content. The best thing about both of these is that they are freezable meaning if you make a big batch then you have another really easy dinner waiting for you in the freezer. Saying that, the recipe is pretty straightforward and reasonably quick anyhow. Despite gravy’s strong ties with British cuisine gravy is actually thought to have originated in Egypt around 3000 B.C.
Makes 12 toadies and plenty of gravy
Ingredients
For the toadies
6 sausages
1 tbsp vegetable oil – for browning the mini sausages
A sprig of rosemary torn into 12 segments
12 tsp vegetable oil (for the toadies)
190ml whole milk
75g plain flour
2 eggs
For the gravy
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onion cut into thin strips
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ tbsp corn flour
750ml vegetable low salt stock (I use super low salt stock cube meaning that the whole of the stock only has 0.5g salt, but if you can’t find this then try just using ¼ or ½ a stock cube as the taste of the gravy is mostly from the caramelised onion)
Method
To make the toadies
1. Remove skin from sausages and break each sausage in half and shape into balls. Heat oil in pan and gently fry the balls to brown the outside. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Place 1 tsp off oil in each muffin tin of a 12 tin muffin tray. Place the tray in a preheated 220C fan oven for 5 minutes.
3. Mix the flour, eggs and milk with a ballon whisk.
4. Take the tray out of the oven and quickly place a sausage ball and rosemary segment into each tin. Then carefully pour in the batter to around 2/3 full (then quickly top up with any remaining batter). Place them in a preheated 220C fan oven for 20-25 minutes – do not open the oven for at least 20 minutes otherwise your toadie will flop.
To make the gravy
1. Place butter and oil in saucepan over a low-medium heat and add onions. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, with the lid on, for around 5 minutes.
2. Add sugar and vinegar to onions, stir through and continue to cook, with lid on, stirring occasionally, for a further 5 minutes.
3. Add stock and bring mixture to hard boil for a further 5 minutes.
4. Mix corn flour with 1 ½ tbsp cold water in small dish, then add 3 tbsp of the onion stock to this, mix and then add this corn flour mix back into the remaining onion stock. Cook on a high heat, bubbling away, without a lid, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, until the gravy has thickened up.
Tips
The best thing about both of these is that they are freezable meaning if you make a big batch then you have another really easy dinner waiting for you in the freezer. To freeze the toadies place them on a baking paper lined tray in the freezer, once frozen pop them into a freezer bag/container. To use defrost overnight in fridge and warm through for 15 minutes in a preheated 200C fan oven. Likewise, defrost gravy in fridge overnight and warm through on the hob on a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Facts
Despite gravy’s strong ties with British cuisine gravy is actually thought to have originated in Egypt around 3000 B.C.