If any toad in the hole can be considered light, this is it. Rather than solid old sausages the Suffolk Toad is filled with comparatively dainty rolls of pork (or veal or chicken) with a herby, lemony stuffing. And if that sounds as though I’m hedging my words with lots of qualifiers, well, it is a batter pudding after all. It’s really very good, though, and I’d urge you to give it a try, especially as it’s British Yorkshire Pudding Day on Sunday.

I’ve called it a Suffolk Toad but that’s taking a bit of a liberty. I’ve adapted it somewhat but the original recipe came from a Mrs Kitchener in Buckinghamshire. It’s included in Farmhouse Fare, a collection of readers’ recipes collated by Farmers’ Weekly in the 1940s. I’m obliged to Elisabeth Luard for highlighting it in one of her columns for The Oldie, because although I have the book, I hadn’t previously spotted this.

The second thank you goes to Karen Burns-Booth of Lavender and Lovage, whose Yorkshire pudding method simplifies the process of measuring the ingredients. Rather than giving weights she suggests using cups or mugs and simply varying the size of the cup depending on the intended size of the pudding. The ratios are one mug each of beaten eggs and plain flour to half a mug each of milk and water. Works every time and I speak as one who is normally a bit sniffy about the American cup measure.

And while I’m expressing gratitude, I should thank you for reading this. I’m sorry I haven’t been around much recently – a combination of covid, building works and the cookery school have eaten up my time. Thanks for sticking with me.

Notes: As mentioned above, you can substitute veal or chicken (thighs, I’d suggest) for the pork. You will need a roasting tin approx 30cm x 24cm. A cider gravy goes well with the suffolk toad.