Thursday, November 12, 2009

savory bread pudding with collard greens


Everyone's had bread pudding. I always think of some decadent banana or chocolate pudding with soggy cookies in it, or something to that sweet effect. I never thought of creating a savory one. Well, I had all this bread that was getting stale real quick and random greens that I didn't know what to do with. Since I'm broke and need to make the most of what I got, I figured I would attempt to make a savory bread pudding. So it's not REALLY a pudding in the standard way of creaminess, but it is kinda in a casserole sorta way. There's endless variations on this. You could top it with fresh herbs like basil or chives as well.

Here's what you need: 
Two loaves stale bread
About 5 large collard greens leaves (thinly chopped with thick stems removed)
One teaspoon each of dried thyme, oregano and basil (or whatever dried herb or spice you feel like adding)
One teaspoon of salt
Two cups unsweetened soymilk
Two organic eggs
Two cups veggie broth or stock ( I used boxed and it came out fine)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees first and foremost. Then, break apart the super stale bread (old baguettes work great) and place in an oven proof glass dish along with the thinly chopped collard greens or any greens you fancy. Kale, swiss chard, dandelion. They're all lovely. Then douse them both with plenty of olive oil. Pour in the veggie broth. Sprinkle with salt. Add the unsweetened soymilk and the dried herbs. Beat the eggs briefly and stir into the bread mixture to give it some body. Omitting the eggs is fine too. Top with any ole cheese (or soy cheese!). You could totally top it with some nutritional yeast also to keep it vegan. Bake for 25 minutes. It should be done when the top pieces of bread are golden and crusty. The submerged bread will be soggy, but that good kinda soggy that's enriched with salty brothy veggie goodness. Like big fat croutons.



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