Vegan Toad in The Sweet Potato Hole with Spicy Sumac Beans

Sausages always go down well in our house. My husband Howard and son Ted are huge sausage fans. When I make a meal that includes sausages I normally don’t get any complaints. So when I thought of this dinner my little family didn’t moan.

Recently we went to the supermarket and we found vegan sausages that I’m able to eat. As you already know, during the week we like to eat vegan or vegetarian meals. It normally means no sausages but since I found vegan ones I have started to make meals with them.

The first meal I made was sausage, chips and beans and then I began to wonder what else I could cook. Toad in the hole suddenly sprung to mind and I set to work how to make the batter without an egg. It was surprisingly easy and the results were very tasty. I served the meal with beans and by the end of the dinner all our plates were clean.

Serves 4 – 6

Equipment

• Sharp knife
• Chopping Board
• Small saucepan
• Colander
• Large mixing bowl
• Jug
• Nutribullet
• Tablespoon
• Teaspoon
• Large saucepan
• Stirring spoon
• 6 hole muffin or yorkshire pudding tin

Ingredients for the Spicy Sumac Beans

• Haricot beans x 2 400g tins
• Onion x 1
• Carrot x 1
• Celery x 2 stalks
• Tomatoes x 2 400g tins
• Vegetable stock x 200mls
• Garlic granules x 1 tsp
• Smoked paprika x 1 tsp
• Ground ginger x 1 tsp
• Sumac x 1 tsp
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method for slow cooker

• Start by peeling and slicing the carrots and the onion thinly.
• Slice the celery thinly too.
• Put these ingredients into the slow cooker.
• Add in the sumac, garlic granules, smoked paprika and ground ginger.
• Turn the slow cooker on high for two hours and low for four hours.
• When the vegetables have become nice and soft, turn the cooker off and leave to cool for about 30 minutes.
• Place the cooled vegetables and stock in the food processor or use a stick blender and blend all the ingredients together until it becomes smooth.
• Pour the smooth mixture back into the slow cooker, if using a food processor.
• Finally add the cannellini beans plus the water in the tin.
• Turn the slow cooker back on to a high heat for two hours or a low heat for four hours.
• Before the beans are done, cook the rice and finally fry the eggs.
• Once the eggs and the rice are cooked, add the rice to the beans.
• Serve the rice and beans mixture into the bowls and add the fried eggs of top of the plates.
• Then serve and enjoy.

Method for the hob

• Peel and thinly slice the carrots.
• Thinly slice the celery and set these aside.
• Now peel and thinly slice the onion.
• Put the large pan on a high heat and add oil.
• Spread the oil across the base of the pan.
• When the pan is hot add the onions.
• Fry until they start to soften and become translucent.
• Next add in the carrots and celery and fry until these start to soften too.
• Sprinkle over the spices and fry for a further minute or so.
• Pour in the tomatoes and vegetable stock.
• Bring these ingredients to the boil then turn the heat down and leave to simmer.
• Leave on the hob for about 30 minutes of so.
• During this time the batter for the toad in the hole can be made.
• Keep stirring them occasionally and after 30 minutes remove from the heat.
• Leave the sauce to cool for another 30 minutes.
• Now add the sauce to the blender and blend these ingredients together.
• Once the sauce is blended pour it back into the large saucepan and put on a low heat.
• Drain the haricot beans through the colander and wash under the tap.
• Now put these into the saucepan with the sauce.
• Stir them together and keep stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Ingredients for the Toad in the Sweet Potato Hole

• Sweet potato x 400g
• Chickpea flour x 200g
• Baking powder x 1 tbsp
• Bicarbonate of soda x 1 tbsp
• Dried mixed herbs x 1 tsp
• Salt x a pinch
• Non dairy milk x 400mls
• Apple cider vinegar x 1 tbsp
• Sausages x 4 – 6
• Oil

Method for the batter

• Preheat the oven to 220°C or gas mark 7.
• Pour about 1/2 centimetre of oil into each hole of the muffin tin.
• Now put the tin into the oven.
• Peel and cut the sweet potato into 2 centimetre cubes.
• Put the small saucepan on a high heat and add water.
• Place the sweet potato cubes into the colander and put it on top of the small saucepan.
• Now place the lid inside the colander and leave to steam for about 15 – 20 minutes or until the potato starts to soften.
• Meanwhile put the chickpea flour into the large mixing bowl.
• Add in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and dried mixed herbs.
• Stir these ingredient together.
• When the sweet potato has softened remove from the heat.
• Leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Then place the potato into the blender along with the milk.
• Blend these ingredients together.
• Now pour the blended ingredients over the flour mix.
• Whisk them together with a fork or whisk.
• Finally add in the apple cider vinegar and whisk again.
• Once every thing has been well mixed place the batter in the fridge until you want to use it.
• When the beans have been made and they are keeping warm on the hob, start to cook the toad.
• Remove the six tin muffin tray from the oven and put a sausage in each of the holes.
• Pour a little bit of batter into each hole and continue to do this until all the batter has been used.
• When all of the batter has been evenly spread across the tin put it back into the oven for about 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove and serve with the beans.

Toad in the Sweet Potato Hole with Spicy Sumac Beans is not a hard recipe to cook but it does take time. To save time you can make the batter the day before. Plus the beans could be made at the weekend and frozen until you want to eat them. As I mentioned earlier Howard and Ted were really pleased when this meal was served. However you decide to eat this dinner, as always, enjoy.

Do you like eating vegan meals and if so, what’s your favourite? Let me know in the comments below and please don’t forget to like and follow me. Thank you. xxx