I don't normally bother trying to make toad in the hole because I find the appeal is mostly in the novelty and not the taste. I like fried eggs with nice crispy edges served on top of a good piece of buttered toast. But this fancy walnut-and-parmesan-garnished version seemed like it might be a) worth the effort and b) significantly more delicious than a plain fried egg on toast, so I figured I'd give it a go.

You can use any bread you like for this, but the author recommends seeking out something "unusual" and suggests something with olive, herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, or cheese. And, as it just so happens, I recently made a batch of tomato-basil sourdough! Aside from the loaves being a bit on the small side, they were pretty much idea for this.

Posh Toad in the Hole

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 4 slices of bread (cut 2-3cm thick)
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 6 large eggs, divided
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. walnuts, chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 4 slices prosciutto

Directions

1. Cut an oval (maybe 5cm by 7cm) out of the centre of each slice of bread.
2. Whisk the milk with the salt, pepper, and two of the eggs.
3. Place the bread¹ in a shallow dish or pan and pour the custard mixture over it. Set aside and allow to soak, turning occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook the walnuts over medium heat until they being to change colour (~5 minutes).
5. Melt the butter with the oil over medium heat.
6. Add the soaked bread slices and cook for ~5 minutes.
7. Flip and cook for another minute or two.
8. Carefully crack an egg into a bowl and pour it into the hole in the centre of one of the bread crusts. Repeat with remaining three eggs and crusts.
9. Reduce heat to low or medium-low and cook, covered, for 7-8 minutes.
10. Sprinkle with cheese, remove from heat, and set aside.
11. Place one slice of prosciutto each on a warmed plate.
12. Place one of the toads in a hole on top of each slice of prosciutto.
13. Garnish with walnuts and serve.

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¹ The original recipe calls for only using the outer/crust part of the bread for this recipe and saving the cut-out ovals "for another use", but I just soaked them in the custard along with the crusts and cooked them up at the same time to be served on the side. Use whichever approach you prefer. ^Back