Savory Asparagus Bread Pudding Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 2 1/2-quart casserole dish, and set dish aside. Snap off and discard tough ends of asparagus. Using a vegetable peeler, carefully peel outer layer from bottom 2 inches of asparagus spears.
• Fill a large straight-sided saute pan with salted water, and bring to a boil; prepare an ice bath. Add asparagus, and cook until bright green, about 1 minute. Transfer asparagus to ice bath, and let cool. Drain, transfer to a clean kitchen towel, and pat dry. Set asparagus aside.
• Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring once or twice, until mushrooms turn golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a plate; set aside.
• Melt remaining tablespoon butter with remaining tablespoon oil, and add onion. Cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and set aside.
• Randomly arrange half of the bread pieces on bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle half of the rosemary over the top. Place half of the asparagus, onions, mushrooms, and cheese on top. Make a second layer with remaining bread, rosemary, asparagus, onions, mushrooms, and cheese.
• To make custard, combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan, and set over medium-high heat; cook until mixture is hot. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, hot-milk mixture, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until combined.
• Pour custard over pudding. Press down on pudding, completely soaking top layer of bread, and place a plate on top. Weigh down the plate with a can or other object. Let pudding stand 20 minutes.
• Bake pudding until custard has set and top is golden, about 45 minutes. Remove dish from oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 3-quart casserole dish with butter.
• Whisk the eggs, heavy cream, cognac and some salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place the bread slices into the egg-cream mixture and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Cut the mushrooms into large dice and add to food processor along with the shallots and process until finely, finely chopped. Put a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add 4 tablespoons of the butter. Once the pan is heated, add the mushroom/shallot mixture and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the heat under a medium cast-iron pan to medium-high and add the oil. Once heated, add the sliced spring onion and sear until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total.
• To assemble, first put a third of the bread in the prepared casserole dish, then half of the mushroom duxelles, half of the seared onion and another third of the bread. Press down and top with the remaining mushroom duxelles and onions. Top with the remaining bread and dot with the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Put into the oven and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the mushrooms. Add the sausage and stir over the heat until browned and cooked through.
• In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Add the cubed bread to the egg mixture and let the egg and bread mixture sit for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator to allow the bread to absorb the liquid.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove the egg mixture from the refrigerator, add the sausage and mushrooms and stir to combine. Ladle the bread pudding mixture into the muffin tins and bake until set, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the puddings from the muffin tins to a serving platter and serve. Reserve 3 puddings for the Round 2 Recipe, Savory Bread Pudding Bites with Apple Mustard Sauce.
• Use the leftovers from this recipe to make Savory Bread Pudding Bites with Apple Mustard Sauce .

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add sausage and cook until well-browned. Add onions, bell peppers, and green onions and saute until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken broth and cook, stirring, for one minute. Remove skillet from heat.
• Place bread cubes in large mixing bowl. Add milk and half and half and stir. Allow to set until milk is completely absorbed, about 10 minutes.
• Add onion, peppers, and sausage mixture to bread. Fold in beaten eggs, cheeses, and seasonings. Spoon mixture into buttered 9 x 13" casserole. Can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight at this point. Remove from frig and allow to warm up on counter for 30 minutes before baking. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees. Spread sour cream over top of casserole and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for additional 15 minutes, or until browned on top.

Steps:

• Butter or oil an 8-inch souffle or baking dish, and put bread in it. Combine everything but shiitakes, and pour over bread. Submerge bread with a weighted plate, and turn oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons butter or oil in a saute pan, add shiitakes and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Remove plate, and stir in mushrooms. Bake until pudding is just set, 35 to 45 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large bowl soak the bread crumbs in the milk for 30 minutes, and set aside. In a skillet saute the leeks in 4 tablespoons of the butter for 5 minutes until soft. Add the salt, pepper, thyme and sage, stir well to combine, and set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. In another bowl, beat the yolks until they are light yellow and frothy. Add the yolks to the bread mixture, and stir well. Add the leeks, and stir well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the bread mixture.
• Butter a 2-quart baking dish with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the bread mixture, and bake for 45 minutes until golden; serve immediately.

Steps:

• Bring a medium or large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the kale. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until tender but still colorful. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely and set aside.
• If using garlic, cut one of the garlic cloves in half and rub the slices of bread with the cut side. Then mince all of the garlic. Cut the bread into 1-inch squares.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy, wide skillet and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until they begin to soften, and add the thyme, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook for another minute or two, until the mushrooms are tender and fragrant. Stir in the kale, toss together and remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil or butter a 2-quart baking dish, soufflé dish or gratin. In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, the mushrooms and kale, and the two cheeses and toss together. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
• Beat together the eggs and milk. Add salt to taste and a few twists of the pepper mill, and pour over the bread mixture. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before baking so that the bread can absorb some of the liquid.
• Place in the oven and bake 40 to 50 minutes, until puffed and browned. Remove from the oven and serve hot or warm.

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread, Swiss cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese.
• In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add mushrooms, and saute until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to the mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet, and add the spinach and Swiss chard leaves. Saute until wilted, about 2 minutes, and transfer to the mixing bowl.
• Bring a small pan of water to a boil, and add the leeks and Swiss chard stems. Blanch for 1 minute, remove from heat and drain well. Add to bread mixture.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub the inside of an 8-inch-square baking pan with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. In a medium bowl, beat egg just until blended.
• In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine milk and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, and remove from heat. While whisking vigorously, add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg, then return the egg mixture to the pan and whisk until blended. Add milk mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients, and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to the baking pan, pressing gently on surface. Bake pudding until set, about 15 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven. Preheat a broiler with a rack about 6 inches from the heat. Unmold pudding onto a cookie sheet or other flat pan. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on top of the pudding, and place under broiler until golden brown, about 20 seconds. Serve while hot.

Steps:

• Butter eight 3/4-cup custard cups or soufflé dishes. Coat with breadcrumbs. Cut off asparagus tips. Cook tips in large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain; reserve tips and 1 cup cooking liquid. Coarsely chop asparagus stalks.
• Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 6 minutes. Add stalks; sauté until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add reserved asparagus cooking liquid. Cover; simmer until stalks are tender, about 12 minutes.
• Uncover; cook until liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Transfer to food processor; puree. Add Parmesan, ricotta and flour. Using on/off turns, process just until blended. Season with salt and pepper.
• Whisk eggs in bowl to blend. Add asparagus puree; whisk to blend. Stir in all but 16 asparagus tips. Divide custard among cups. Place cups in roasting pan. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; chill puddings and remaining asparagus tips.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour hot water into pan to come 1 inch up sides of cups. Bake puddings until set, about 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Invert onto plates. Garnish with asparagus tips.