- Jeff's "Toad-in-the-Hole" Sausage Roll Recipe
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I think I've come up with the best of two great British dishes in one with this recipe! English toad-in-the-hole and sausage rolls are both wonderful old dishes that are probably remote ancestors of the American classic, "pig-in-a-blanket." English sausage rolls are customarily made with puff pastry and loose sausage meat for the filling (see notes and additional sausage-roll recipe link below). Authentic toad-in-the-hole is basically a large, shallow, bready pastry with sausages baked in it (click the comparison photo below for a classic toad-in-the-hole recipe). My quest to make traditional English sausage rolls leaner and healthier resulted in this Americanized version which turned out to be more of a cross between English toad-in-the-hole and the traditional English sausage roll (besides reminding me a little of toad-in-the-hole, I think that name is absolutely hilarious, so I like to integrate it into the name I call this recipe).
This is more simple to prepare than either
sausage rolls or toad-in-the-hole, and I think it's even more delicious than original English sausage rolls (and
it's definitely more tasty than tough, old English toad-in-the-hole). Also, because you may use a low-fat brand
of sausage, it's a lot healthier than either dish as each is more commonly prepared. These go great with "chips,"
baked or curried beans, mushy peas or just about anything on the side!
Ingredients:
1 lb. smoked or Kielbasa-style sausage
1, 8-oz tube of Pillsbury or other brand of ready-to-bake crescent rolls
1 or 2 ounces of Cheddar cheese, shredded
Preparation:
Cut the sausage into four equal sections, then brown the pieces a little under the broiler or in a pan on the stove (browning the sausage pieces is optional, though).
Crack open the tube of crescent rolls, dividing the dough into four equal rectangular sections (most brands in the refrigerated tubes come in eight perforated, triangular sections which are easy enough to make into four rectangles by keeping two of the triangular sections together). Roll up a piece of sausage in each rectangular section of dough.
Sprinkle a few shreds of Cheddar cheese over each roll, then bake (seam side down) at 375 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
This recipe of course yields 4 sausage rolls.
So, which looks better?
This leathery ol' toad-in-the-hole ~ or ~ my super savoury sausage rolls?
(I'll take my sausage rolls any day!)
Notes:
Obviously, I like to use low-fat or no-fat sausage, and also the reduced-fat crescent dough and cheese. The low-fat ingredients always work great for me! (Why make it unhealthy and bad for your heart if you don't have to?)
Want to make traditional, authentic English sausage
rolls instead of my less-fattening, Americanized version above? Click here for the recipe!
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
1874 - 1965
"The Americans will always do the right thing . . . after they've exhausted all the alternatives."
Bessie Braddock: "Sir, you are drunk." Churchill: "And you, Madame, are ugly. But in the morning, I shall be sober."
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