September 09, 2011

Swiss Chard Bread Pudding

Savoury bread pudding. Let me tell you folks, this is where it's at. The ultimate frontier of comfort foods. Dunh dunh dunh. (OK that may be a slight exaggeration, it's just that I know this recipe may not sound or look like something you would want to make. And I need to tell you it is! It really is, trust me).



This past weekend, before anyone even had time to psychologically prepare for it, summer boldly shifted head-first into fall mode. The season when it's ok to linger in bed a bit longer in the morning, the time to bring out the woolies & knitting, go for long walks in the park, and most importantly, get back into baking and cooking warm comfort foods. But yesterday for some reason, I wasn't feeling ready to say goodbye to summer. I felt sad and chilly and I needed something warm and mushy in my belly to chase away the blues & chill. I've been toying with the idea of making swiss chard bread pudding for a while. I've never even made the sweet version but have always had a weird nostalgia about it, even though I didn't grow up with it as a kid. I didn't even taste until I was well into my twenties, which is odd having grown up in Nova Scotia. Last year, my roommate made a savoury version which was a revelation, all the bells went off in my head. It was cheesy and carb-ey and I devoured that thing like there was no tomorrow. I've been thinking about it ever since. So here's my slightly boozy, very cheesy, swiss chard variation I came up with. A hearty dish that did a fine job of comforting my seasonal blues. I highly recommend it for a cool September night. (It's also a great way to use up stale bread and sneak in a generous portion of greens for kids who don't like them...  in which case maybe ignore the splash of hard liquor part of the recipe eh?)


Swiss Chard Bread Pudding from Kitchen Vignettes on Vimeo.


SWISS CHARD BREAD PUDDING

About 5 cups of bread pieces (either cubed or torn by hand, stale bread is best)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 bunches of chard, lightly steamed and chopped
3/4 cup white wine (I also snuck in a few splashes of dry martini mix, heh heh, a splash of vodka would do the trick too)
7 eggs
1 1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1 cup grated gruyere
bunch of sage & a large clove or two of garlic

Sautee the onion and olive oil until onion is soft and lightly browned. Add chopped swiss chard to the onions (steam it and chop it first) and cook a wee bit longer. At the last minute, add the wine (and if desired, a few splashes of vodka or martini mix... go on, do it, you know you want to). Let the mixture cool.

Whip cream, milk, & eggs together. Add chopped sage & garlic, cheeses, bread pieces, and swiss chard mixture. Mix everything well and pour into buttered pan. Bake at 350 C for about an hour or until set and sizzling & golden on top. Serve warm and let your worries melt away.


10 comments:

  1. Oh. My. Word. I need that in my belly right now! My fella does not like eggs, I wonder if I could devour the whole thing myself???

    Steph

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  2. o yumola, does that ever look GOOD!!

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  3. I want some! I am loving chard and kale these days! This pudding would be good any time of the day! :)

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  4. Yes, I think I could too :) Though, I suppose I could share with my eggy loving friends. Do you have any recommendations in lieu of sage? Do you suppose basil would work well?

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  5. Basil would be good - initially I was going to use rosemary so you could go with that as well, or thyme. But the sage really seals this pudding for me, I've gotto say (I think for me it's because I associate with sage with the delicious turkey stuffing my grandmother used to make)... but I'm sure another herb would be equally lovely! Keep me posted how it goes!!

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  6. This reminds me of a fancier version of my favourite at-work supper right now. I take chard braised with olive oil and garlic (the saucier, the better) and pile it on a piece of garlic bread with chopped chicken. Then I top it with mozza and parmesan cheese and broil it until good and crispy brown. Your pudding would be amazing for a lazy late summer brunch...you could probably put it together the night before, then pop it in the oven in the morning....gorgeous as always, Aube!

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  7. Hey Aube, awesome blog! :) I plan to try this one this evening. Did you use whipping cream or coffee cream?

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  8. Hey Ariana, I'm so happy you're going to make this! Please let me know how it turns out - I used coffee cream, I think it was 10% cream, but you could always go all out and use whipping cream. As far as I'm concerned, the heavier the cream the delicious-er the food (ha!)... except that this recipe is pretty rich and heavy already as it is, hence my choice to go with a lighter cream. Happy cooking!!
    Jenny! That broiled chicken swiss chard bread melt sounds right up my alley. I'm all over the swiss chard right now so definitely going to try it, yum, thanks for sharing!

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  9. Yum! I am so going to try this, I made the kale/sundried tomato one similar to this recipe and it came out perfectly on my first try! I took it to a party and it was a smash! Thank you!

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