Savory Bread Pudding

I told Arthur I was going to make a bread pudding using our saute greens. He said that didn't make sense because bread pudding is a dessert. According to the definition in Epicurious, he's correct. "A simple, delicious baked dessert made with cubes or slices of bread saturated with a mixture of milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and spices. Chopped fruit or nuts also can be added. Bread and butter pudding is made by buttering the bread slices before adding the liquid mixture. Both may be served hot or cold with cream or a dessert sauce."

This recipe may actually be more of a strata, but whatever its called its a good way to use some of the greens that you'll find yourself with if you subscribe to a CSA farm. I used the saute greens that I got in my CSA box as well as the radish leaves from a bunch of radishes. In addition I removed the leaves from a bunch of kohlrabi we got in our box and used those too.

The consensus after we had this for supper last night is that its very good and an excellent dish to stash a lot of your greens in.

Bread Pudding with Greens, Bacon and Goat Cheese

Butter or pan spray for greasing the pan

3 1/2 cups milk
1 large clove garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 ounces bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/2 -inch pieces (I used bacon from Jordandal Farms)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 bunches greens, washed and dried, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces (about 9 cups); the original recipe called for dandelion greens--any kind will work fine

2 shallots, minced or green onions if shallots are not available

6 eggs

8 ounces fresh goat cheese (I used DreamFarm goat cheese; you can use plain or one of the flavors)

8 cups stale bread, half whole wheat, half country white, crust on, cut or torn into about 1/2 -inch pieces (I used all whole wheat)

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, garlic and black pepper. Heat until just before the milk reaches a simmer. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

2. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp. When the bacon is cooked, keep the pan on the heat and add the olive oil, greens and shallot. Stir until the greens are wilted, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the cooled milk and the goat cheese and whisk until combined. Stir in the bread, greens mixture and lemon zest and mix until combined. Pour the mixture into the baking dish, pressing down to make sure the bread is submerged. Let the mixture sit for about 15 minutes so that the bread absorbs the liquid.

4. Bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown, rotating once for even cooking. Test to make sure the custard is cooked through, if not bake for another 10 minutes.

Note: I made a couple of changes. My bread was quite dense so I soaked it in the milk, garlic, pepper mixture overnight. Then there is no need to let it sit again. This time, I decided to chop the greens in my food processor. I put them in the bowl and pulsed a few times until they were roughly chopped. It worked very well and was also fast. The amount of greens is not important--no need to measure. You can use a lot of them in this dish.

Adapted from a recipe in the Los Angeles Times

I've mentioned Jordandal Farms meats and Dreamfarm goat cheese before. If you live in Dane County Wisconsin, these are 2 of the many local farmers that produce excellent products.

Jordandal Farms: http://www.jordandalfarm.com/

Dreamfarm: http://www.dreamfarm.biz/