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[[ Side · Vegetarian · Braise · Cabbage · Apple ]]

Toad in the Hole with Slow-Braised Red Cabbage & Apple

Pork sausages baked in a puffy Yorkshire pudding batter, served alongside red cabbage slowly braised with apple, red wine and warm spices. The batter is crisp at the edges and soft in the middle, and the cabbage is sweet, tangy and rich. Good cold-weather food for a relaxed weeknight or a lazy Sunday.

Time: 1 h 45 min
Effort: Low
Steps: 11

7 of the steps have a timer you can start with one tap.

Toad in the Hole with Slow-Braised Red Cabbage & Apple, photographed at home

Ingredients

4 to feed

130 g plain flour
3 whole eggs
150 ml whole milk
150 ml cold water
0.5 tsp flaky sea salt (batter)
8 whole pork sausages
30 ml sunflower oil or beef dripping
800 g red cabbage
2 whole apples (Granny Smith or Braeburn)
1 whole red onion
45 g butter
30 ml olive oil
45 ml red wine vinegar
30 g brown sugar
150 ml red wine
2 whole cloves
1 whole cinnamon stick
3 whole juniper berries
1 tsp flaky sea salt
0.5 tsp black pepper

How it goes

PrepPrep the vegetables
CookSoften the onion · Add cabbage and apple
BraiseBuild the braise
PrepMake and rest the batter
CookPreheat the tin · Brown the sausages · Pour in the batter · Bake until puffed and golden
FinishFinish the cabbage
ServeServe immediately

Method

Prep the vegetables
Quarter the red cabbage, remove the core, and finely shred into thin ribbons. Peel, core, and roughly chop the 2 apples. Halve the red onion and slice thinly into half-moons. Prick the 8 sausages with a fork.
Soften the onion
Melt 30g butter with 30ml olive oil in your Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the sliced red onion and cook gently for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. No colour — just soft.
Add cabbage and apple
Add the shredded red cabbage (~800g) and chopped apple to the pot. Stir everything together so the cabbage is coated in the buttery onion base. The pot will look very full — don't worry, it collapses dramatically as it cooks.
Build the braise
Pour in 150ml red wine and 45ml red wine vinegar. Add 30g brown sugar, 2 whole cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, and 3 juniper berries. Season with 1 tsp salt and 0.5 tsp black pepper. Stir well, put the lid on, reduce to very low heat, and braise for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes or so.
Make and rest the batter
While the cabbage braises, tip 130g plain flour and 0.5 tsp salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre, crack in 3 large eggs, and whisk together. Gradually whisk in 150ml whole milk and 150ml cold water until smooth and thin. Pour into a jug and rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat the tin
About 15 minutes before the cabbage is done, preheat oven to 220°C fan. Pour 30ml sunflower oil into the roasting tin and place in the oven to heat for 10–15 minutes until smoking hot.
Brown the sausages
Add the 8 sausages to the smoking hot tin and return to the oven for 10 minutes until lightly browned.
Pour in the batter
Working quickly, pull the tin out and immediately pour the rested batter evenly over and around the sausages. It will hiss and sizzle — that's exactly right. Slide straight back into the oven.
Bake until puffed and golden
Bake at 220°C fan for 25–30 minutes until the batter is deeply golden, risen, and crisp around the edges.
Finish the cabbage
Fish out the cinnamon stick and cloves. Stir in 15g butter. Taste — it should be sweet, tangy, and warming. Adjust with a little more vinegar for brightness or sugar to round it out. Keep warm on a very low heat or in a low oven (100°C) while the toad finishes.
Serve immediately
Bring the tin straight to the table — Toad in the Hole waits for nobody. Cut into 4 generous portions and serve with a big spoonful of braised cabbage, a pour of onion gravy, and mash if you like.