A couple months ago, our friends Kim and Barry over at the Rustic Garden Bistro blogged about a delicious looking breakfast dish she described as a Toad in the Hole, which in turn was modified from a similar dish prepared by Nancy at A Communal Table.
I was immediately intrigued because every year, I enjoy the delicious Toad in the Hole finger food served up at the Southern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire. The Faire food version is a sausage roll. I had never heard of a casserole (or souffle-type) version.
So I experimented on my willing husband one fine Saturday morning! Like our pals over at the Rustic Garden Bistro, I adapted the recipe to include some of the fresh herbs from our garden. And since I try to skinny down recipes any time I can, I used part-skim mozzarella, low-fat milk, and lean turkey sausage.
The dish turned out fabulous! Hubby said that it didn’t even taste “low-fat”.
A single serving was more than filling enough for each of us, so we refrigerated the leftovers and reheated them in the microwave for a quick breakfast before heading off to church.
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
- 1 cup flour
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ lb. lean hot Italian turkey sausage removed from casings (2-1/2 links)
- ½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 pinches red pepper flakes (according to taste)
- ⅛ cup chopped fresh chives
- ⅛ cup chopped fresh oregano
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. In a medium bowl, combine the milk and the eggs and beat until combined. With a wire whisk, slowly add the wet ingredients into your dry mixture, stirring constantly to avoid clumps, until you have a smooth batter. Set aside.
- In a nonstick skillet brown sausage over medium heat, crumbling into small pieces. Add the entire sausage mixture into an 8 x 8 inch pyrex (or spoon ¼ of mixture into each of 4 one cup souffle dishes). If you are using regular sausage instead of lean, you will want to drain it on paper towels prior to adding to the baking dish(es). Keep sausage warm in the oven while preparing the vegetables.
- Sautee onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes in the same skillet using the little bit of grease left behind from cooking the lean sausage (add cooking spray first if needed). If you used regular sasuage instead of lean, use a paper towel to wipe most of the remaining grease from the skillet. Cook the vegetables just a few minutes, until the onions become translucent.
- Remove the sausage from the oven. Top it with the sauteed onion and garlic mixture, then the herbs, and finally the cheese. Pour the egg and flour mixture on top (if using souffle dishes, divide egg mixture evenly between dishes).
- Return the dish to oven and cook for 20 – 30 minutes or until egg mixture is puffed and golden. Remove from oven and serve.
Hey guys! Yay for trying out Nancy’s Toad in the Hole. Isn’t it great? Your version looks delicious! Sausage makes anything better, yes?!
[K]
Sausage definitely makes things better. And light sausage keeps it healthy, too.