Toad in the hole with caramelised onion and apple gravy

Perfectly crisp, golden yorkshire pudding wrapped around a herby sausage can only be bettered with a smudge of hot English mustard and a dollop of onion gravy.  My conscience makes me add some red cabbage steamed in cider for some healthy crunch on the side.

I like finely grated apple in my onion gravy to sweeten it up and balance out the mustard but you could replace this with a teaspoon of sugar if you prefer.

An alternative is to make this in one big pan, but I think it's nice having lots of little individual puds that emerge, quadrupled in size, like magic from the oven.

Toad in the hole with onion gravy and red cabbage
Serves 2

6 vegetarian lincolnshire sausages
2 tsp vegetable oil

~for the yorkshire pudding batter
2 eggs
85g plain flour
240ml semi skimmed milk
¼ tsp salt
vegetable oil

~for the gravy
2 medium onions, finely sliced
3 fat cloves of garlic, sliced
a knob of butter and 2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
½ tsp worcestershire sauce
400ml vegetable stock
1½ tbsp cornflour
½ peeled eating apple, finely grated

~for the cabbage
350g red cabbage, washed and finely sliced
10g butter
50ml dry cider

1) Shallow fry the sausages in the oil for a couple of minutes until they are coloured on all sides. Allow to cool and cut each one in half.

2) Fry the onions in the oil and butter over a low heat until a dark amber colour, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another couple of minutes, then add the apple, wholegrain mustard, worcestershire sauce, stock and cornflour. Allow
this to bubble on a low heat for 5 minutes.

3) Mix the flour and salt with the eggs, then slowly incorporate the milk until you have a smooth batter. Now add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to each compartment of a muffin tin, rubbing a little around the sides to oil them. Now place on a baking tray and heat in the oven at 475f/240c/gas mark 9 until smoking hot, about 10-12 minutes. Now carefully add two sausage halves to each muffin holder and then spoon in the batter. Work quickly, as you need the oil to stay very hot. Bake in the centre of the oven for 12-15 minutes until the puddings have risen right up and the tops are golden.

4) While the puddings are in the oven, melt the butter in a saucepan then saute the cabbage for a few minutes before adding the cider. Allow most of the liquid to evaporate then pop on the lid and steam until tender. Season to taste, and serve with the puddings and gravy with a dollop of hot English mustard on the side.