COLLARD GREENS and MUSHROOM BREAD PUDDING

Last post I told you of how I got sucked in to the BOGO (buy one get one) sale on the collard greens cuz I’m a sucker for BOGO.  Two bunches of collard greens are way too much for two people to eat; but because collard greens take some time to cook I decided to make both bunches, cook once, use twice.  I had big plans for the leftovers…Savory Bread Pudding!  You're gonna wanna make extra collard greens for this too.

The leftover collard greens already had the onions and seasoning, so there wasn’t too much effort involved in the making of this bread pudding.  From the original recipe for Vegetarian Collard Greens, you will need about half of that batch.  I added mushrooms for more depth of flavor, but if you wanted to make this dish even easier, you could eliminate them and just add the greens straight to the bread; thus eliminating the need for the skillet.  I also gave directions at the bottom of the recipe to use Swiss chard if you don’t have any leftover collard greens.

 

Collard Greens and Mushroom Bread Pudding is savory, earthy and nutty (from the cheese), creamy in the center and crispy on the top; just all ‘round yummy!  

Here' what you do.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut 8 slices of sandwich bread into 1 inch cubes.  I like a little crust, so I only removed the crust from three sides of the bread.

Lay the bread on a sheet pan and lightly toast it in the oven for about t 10 minutes, just to dry the bread out a little.  The bread will absorb the custard better if it's a little dry.

Grease an 8 x 11 x 2 inch pan with some softened butter.










In a large skillet brown the mushrooms in a little olive oil and butter.

When the mushrooms have browned on one side add the garlic and thyme to the skillet.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.

When the mushrooms have browned, add the drained leftover Vegetarian Collard Greens, and remove the pan from the heat.

 Make the custard in a large bowl by whisking  together 6 eggs...

...Milk, half and half, salt, pepper and freshly grated nutmeg.

When the greens and mushrooms have cooled, toss in the cheese.

Being the lazy daisy that I am I did my mixing in the skillet, if your skillet is too small you will need to do this in a large bowl instead.

I added about half of the bread in with the greens and gave it a toss, then I added the remaining bread and toss until it's thoroughly combined.






  A Bain Marie (or water bath) will cook the bread pudding more gently, so that it will be nice and creamy in the center.



Place the baking dish with the bread and greens inside of a larger baking dish.  I used my roaster.
Pour the custard over the bread and greens.

Allow this to sit while you put a kettle of water on to boil.

Pull the middle rack out in the oven, place the bread pudding in the roaster on the rack, pour the boiling water into the roaster, fill it to about half way up the sides of the baking dish.  Careful not to get water in the bread pudding.

After the bread pudding has been in the oven for about 15 minutes, sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Bake for another 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pan half way through cooking (a total of 55 to 65 minutes of cooking).

Allow the bread pudding to set for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve Collard Green and Mushroom Bread Pudding as an entree or a side dish.

Serves 6 as an entree, or 8 as a side dish

8              slices    Sandwich bread, crusts removed, cut into 1 inch cubes

1              Tbsp.     Olive oil

2              Tbsp.     Butter, divided

8              oz.        Mushrooms, quartered

1              clove     Garlic, minced

1              Tbsp.     Fresh thyme

3              cups      Leftover collard greens; drained of any excess liquid (*or see note below)

6                          Eggs

2              cups      Milk

1/2          cup         Half and half

½             tsp.       Salt

¼             tsp.       Pepper

                Pinch     Nutmeg, preferably freshly grated

2              cups      Grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese, divided

  1.       Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

  2.       Lay the cubes of bread on a sheet pan, and lightly toast the bread for about 10 minutes.

  3.       Grease an 8 x 11 x 2 inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of softened butter.

  4.       Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

  5.       Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the mushrooms to brown in the hot skillet.

  6.       When the mushrooms are browned on one side add the garlic to the skillet, be careful not to burn the garlic.

  7.       When the mushrooms are completely browned add the drained leftover collard greens to the pan.  Remove from the heat and set to the side to cool.

  8.       In the meantime make the custard; in a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, half and half, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

  9.       Toss 1 1/2 cups of the Gruyere cheese with the cooled greens and mushrooms.

  10.   Toss the cubed bread with the greens, mushrooms and cheese mixture, either right in the skillet or in a large bowl, until thoroughly combined.

  11.   Remove the bread and greens from the skillet, to the greased baking dish.

  12.   Pour the custard mixture over the bread and greens. 

  13.   Allow the custard to soak into while you put a kettle of water on to boil for a Bain Marie (water bath).

  14.   Place the dish containing the bread pudding into a larger roasting pan, pull the middle rack of the oven out and place the pans on the rack.

  15.   Pour the boiled water into the roasting pan; fill to about half way up the dish containing the bread pudding.  Push the rack in and close the oven door.

  16.   When the bread pudding has been in the oven about 15 minute, sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of cheese over the top it.

  17.   Bake for a further 40 to 50 minutes, (for a total of 55 to 65 minutes of cooking time) until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.   Rotate the pan half way through cooking.

  18.   Allow the bread pudding to set for about 10 minutes before serving.

*Note; if you don’t have leftover collard greens:

Use half of this recipe for Vegetarian Collard Greens.

OR

Dice ½ a medium onion, mince a couple more cloves of garlic and sauté with the mushrooms in step 6.  Then when the onions are translucent and the mushrooms have browned add 1 bunch of chopped Swiss chard and wilt that down.