Sticky Tummy Bread Pudding

Let’s start the morning with a shot of some beautiful, homegrown eggs. Cage free and totally enchanting with their varying shapes and colors. They were a most special gift from some good friends who are raising chickens of their own and I could not wait to use them.

Well actually, I had no other choice. I am leaving for a bit of a holiday break and with two dozen eggs, a fresh loaf of no sodium bread, a whole block of Heluva good cheese, and a bunch of fresh kale, I was tasked to use up the goods as quickly as possible. The solution? Some delicious

savory bread pudding

It is a rather easy recipe, but does require that you have the special no sodium ingredients on hand. The dish can be served for any meal of the day, is a crowd pleaser with sodium normal folk, and is great as leftovers. Just don’t broil it the next morning like I did unless you like the taste of charred chard.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 loaf of Alvarado St. Bakery No Salt Bread (10mg of sodium per slice), cubed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup leek, chopped
• 10 large eggs
• 3 cups SO Delicious Coconut Milk (15 mg per 1 cup)
• 1 bunch kale, chard, or other braising greens
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 a block of Heluva Good Chedder Cheese (5 mg per ounce) or farmers cheese
• 1 teaspoon champagne or white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• black pepper, ground mustard, chipotle chili powder to taste
• 9×13 inch pan, well greased

Directions:

1. Set oven to 350 degrees and when hot, toast the diced bread until cripy. Just keep your eye on it. We all make mistakes.

2. In a pan, heat olive oil and cook leek and onion for 3-5 minutes until softened. Before taking the pan off the heat, add a dash of champagne vinegar to the leeks and onions and cook for two more minutes until liquid has evaporated but the flavor still lingers.

3. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs until blended. Add milk, pepper, nutmeg, ground mustard, and dash of balsamic vinegar.

4. Chop your braising greens and fresh herbs. Add them to the custard mixture from step 3 above.

5. Combine all ingredients in the baking dish so that the custard comes right to the highest piece of bread but does not completely cover it. You will have to do some bread/custard shifting with a spoon or spatula and most of the bread will rise to the top.

6. Bake in oven for 1 hour. Be patient.

7. When eggs have become soft but firm, crumble your cheese on top and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

8. Before serving, dust the top with a little more black pepper, more ground nutmeg, and a pinch of chipotle chili powder. Drizzle flavored oil on the top as well, like truffle or blood orange, to give it extra zest.

9. Chow on.