An autumn inspired classic

If a nationwide survey was to take place, which asked each person their favourite season would be, I wonder what the results would be. The initial thought would probably be the much deserved summer we crave each year; however most British people confusingly do nothing but complain from July onwards if the temperature goes above 23. Upon further thinking I would say that autumn would come in first. Not many people complain about autumn being too long, since at the end of it is a daunting six months of freeze. For this reason (let us call it the reason of British fickleness) autumn would probably merit the best compliment to complain ratio.

I seem to be quite removed from food. What I am trying to say with the above is that autumn is here - and everyone loves it. With good reason too I would add, since it is a magnificent season, particularly speaking from a culinary point of view; however because of this general consensus of autumn being a magnificent season I shall refrain from being yet another person spurting out their clichéd description of the season. Instead I shall let the season and its produce speak for themselves with a simple recipe, not overly complicated but as autumnal as autumnal can be. It is somewhat a twist on that (in a way much forgotten) classic: toad in the hole.
This recipe is also supposed to have a handful of sage leaves scattered in amongst the sausages, but I forgot to pick any up. Feel free to add them if you have any to hand.

Banh Trang Viet Nam

Vietnamese food has been increasingly popular over the last few years, and I don't see why not - in my opinion it is a perfect culinary blend of all its surrounding far eastern neighbours. Hackney is no doubt the mecca for Vietnamese food in London, and it was here that I popped into a Vietnamese supermarket to pick up a few ingredients. I am no expert at far eastern cuisine; after an over-obsession with Japanese food a few years back, I have stayed away from that part of the world completely. However my saturation of ramen has left my system and over the last few months I have been back at the orient with a vengeance, though with a different outlook - more focusing on the depths of flavour that come from the more exotic far eastern kitchens, and not quite so much on the umami-miso-soy flavours that sickened me in my past.
I am still a fledgling in the Vietnamese kitchen and so cautiously make simple, few ingredient dishes at home and leave the interesting stuff to those with more experience; however that doesn't mean home made dishes aren't nice - this following easy recipe was delicious and enjoyed by all.
Banh Trang Viet Nam are Vietnamese rice paper wraps that are fun to play with and can transform some roast meat and vegetables. I love the sound of Vietnamese and probably greatly annoy my family by repeatedly and incorrectly pronouncing Banh Trang and Nhan Con Ngong Bay. Anyway, this a fun recipe to make but requires a bit of kitchen space or things can get a bit cramped. For this recipe use Flying goose hoisin sauce since it a Vietnamese brand.

Beans

Growing up I never liked Heinz baked beans. The sweet artificial tasting syrup that leaked from the pile of squashed beans was enough to render inedible anything it touched. I know that by saying this I risk being hanged, since it is probably a law in this country to like baked beans, fry-ups and roast dinners (and baked beans are by a long shot not even my most hated on that list). Despite social exclusion, disliking baked beans has an enormous advantage. Firstly, it means that I grew up associating beans with a variety of different meals and as an ingredient (not as a household tinned good), and secondly this allows me to experiment with bean-tomato-slightly sweet-reduced-on toast type meals without thinking that some sort of blasphemy has occurred.
To demonstrate my point I recall a Saturday morning cookery programme I watched years ago. A chef (I can't remember which one) spent a good hour and a lot of effort preparing his version of baked beans. Much to his disappointment the tasting panel all said they didn't really like it because when they thought of baked beans they thought of Heinz, which they grew up on. Shame. But as I said, the advantage of not liking them growing up means I am free from their grip - which means I can make my own "baked beans". Don't be put of by the ingredient list, most of which are dry goods and are probably lurking somewhere in most people's cupboard. I usually use three different types of beans, the two listed below plus pinto; however I only had butter and red kidney beans. If you do use three types then use 100g of each.
Also, if this is being made for a weekend brunch then a handful of smoked lardons would go wonderfully, tossed in a few minutes after the onions.

Cabrito goat meat

I didn't really get a good look when ordering some kid goat cutlets in the Ginger pig. I saw a handful of the last remaining cutlets get wrapped up in paper and handed to me to investigate more thoroughly when I got home. Expecting a sweetness that usually wafts out from the opening of a Ginger pig wrapping of rare breed beef or pork, I was hit with pungent disappointment. The first thing to note about kid goat meat is that it is rather gamey in smell when raw and doesn't quite get one salivating like the smell and sight of a slab of aged rump. Nevertheless, I tried to get into a more carnivorous mindset and prepared to get stuck into them; besides, whilst a gamey smell isn't always the most pleasant, a gamey taste is.