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bread pudding

Kale & Caramelized Onion Bread Pudding

Apr 11, 2013 by Lauren Stransky

kaleThis savory bread pudding is a kale-lover’s dream. Just one serving provides 70% of a day’s worth of vitamin A, 50% of your daily vitamin C needs and nearly one-quarter of your calcium requirements. The flavors of the kale and onion meld together with help from the flavorful Gruyere cheese, and the thyme and nutmeg give this luscious side a unique taste all it’s own! Serve it as a side with pork, chicken or grilled salmon steak.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings (1 9”x9” pan)
Time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
1 ½ cups low-fat milk
Several grates of nutmeg
6 cups 1” cubed stale sourdough bread (or any good hearty bread)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced ½” thick
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
10 garlic cloves, halved
6 oz. roughly chopped kale (stems removed)
½ cup pine nuts
1 cup grated gruyère cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Soak the stale bread in the egg mixture, turning from time to time, until the bread has absorbed most of the liquid and the bread feels soft but not mushy, about 20 minutes depending on how stale the bread is.

While the bread is soaking, heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil and onions. Sprinkle with salt and slowly brown the onion stirring regularly until browned and softened, about 15 minutes. Add the thyme and garlic, another sprinkle of salt, and continue to cook until the onions are softened and sweet and the garlic is browned, another 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

While the onions are caramelizing, cook the kale. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the kale until softened, about 5 minutes but maybe more, depending on how tough it is. Drain, and when cool enough to handle, squeeze out excess water. Stir the pine nuts, reserved onion mixture and the kale into the bowl with bread. Butter or oil a 9”x9” baking pan. Fill it with the bread mixture, pressing down on the bread. Sprinkle with the gruyère. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden, cheese is melted and custard is set. Check that the middle is cooked through by putting a paring knife into the center for 2 seconds. Feel the blade and if it feels quite hot and isn’t coated with wet egg custard, then it’s ready!

Nutrition Info:

Calories: 180
Total Fat: 8 g
Sat Fat: 2.5 g
Sodium: 190 mg
Protein: 9 g
Fiber: 1 g

Filed Under: Cooking, Food and Drink, Food/Cooking, Nutrition, Recipes, Wellness/Health Tagged With: bread pudding, gruyere cheese, Kale, kale-lover, savory, thyme, vitamin c

Move Over Cupcakes: Doughnuts Rise Again!

Oct 17, 2011 by Tina Ruggiero

6a01053531eb10970c014e8c5548dd970dI love bread pudding. Always have. I can pass up cake, cookies; pie and ice cream, but bread pudding is my weakness. There’s something about its chewy texture, hearty nature and simplicity that’s irresistible. It could also be the whiskey or rum sauce…

Well-made bread pudding is hard to find in restaurants. It’s soggy, mushy and often times too sweet.  Preparing it at home, I find that sturdy bread works best. Panettone, Brioche and Challah are each superb.  And bread pudding isn’t just for dessert. I make a savory variation with bacon and kale.

6a01053531eb10970c014e8c554782970dPerhaps, that’s why I enjoy bread pudding so much. It’s easy, versatile and endlessly forgiving.When my friend Jess Thomson, a brilliant writer and recipe developer, sent me a copy of her new book, Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts: Secrets and Recipes for the Home Baker, I knew it was going to be a success. What got me even more excited than its puffed out cover was the fact it included a recipe for doughnut bread pudding.

For those of you not familiar, Seattle-based Top Pot Doughnuts is the penultimate doughnut shop. Founders Mark and Michael Klebeck have elevated doughnut-making to an art form. So, joining forces with Jess and photographer extraordinaire Scott Pitts, they produced a one-of-a-kind cookbook that empowers home bakers to make the most indulgent doughnuts — without a deep fryer or special tools.

From the Classic Twist to Spiced Chai Cake Doughnuts and Raspberry Bullseyes, there’s a recipe in the book for everyone. Happily for me, there was that glazed doughnut bread pudding recipe.

I followed the recipe to the letter and, in less than an hour, baked a decadent and unforgettable dessert. Sure, it was a splurge, but one so satisfying, I can quickly and easily return to my healthy eating habits.

Next weekend, maybe I’ll try the Bavarian Cream Bismarks.

Filed Under: Cooking, Food/Cooking Tagged With: bread pudding, brioche, challah, cupcakes, donuts, doughnuts, hand-forged donuts, michael klebeck, recipes for the home baker, seattle top pot doughnuts

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