Also known as a Dutch baby, these sausages baked in batter are a real cold-weather treat.

Recipe & Styling Natalie Homan | Photograph Brendan Homan

Sausage & mushroom toad in the hole
serves 4

1.25 cups plain flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cracked pepper
1.25 cups milk
4 eggs
50g butter
400g mixed mushrooms
8 thyme sprigs
sea salt & cracked black pepper
8 broccolini stems
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus ¼ cup
6 fresh pork sausages

Preheat oven to 200C. Place flour and seasoning into a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Place milk and eggs into another bowl and whisk to combine. Add the egg mix to the flour and whisk until smooth. Cover with clingfilm and allow to rest.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 20cm cast iron pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, thyme and seasoning, stir and place in the oven to roast for 20 minutes, adding the broccolini for the final 8 minutes. Transfer to a small oven-proof dish along with any roasting juices.

Increase the oven temperature to 220C. Carefully wipe out the hot pan with paper towel and place over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp oil, add the sausages and cook until browned (not cooked all the way through). Set aside.

Gently whisk the batter. Add the remaining ¼ cup of oil to the pan and heat until the oil is shimmering. Moving quickly and carefully, pour the batter into the pan and rearrange the sausages so they are evenly spaced. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and crispy on the edges. If required, return the mushrooms and broccolini to the oven for a couple minutes to heat through.

Serve immediately, topped with the mushrooms and broccolini, drizzled with the roasting juices and extra cracked black pepper.

This recipe first appeared in the April 2022 issue of SALIFE magazine.