Flipping through my friend Ann's new cookbook the other night, I stumbled on a delicious-sounding bread pudding recipe - Savory Asparagus Bread Pudding. It looked perfect for Spring, perfect for brunch, and if I were looking for something to add to my Easter recipe repertoire (which I'm not, but I'm sure some of you are), this looked compelling. A seasonal, family-style recipe where nearly all the prep can be done the day or night before.

Before we get into the minutia of my bread pudding experience, I'll tell you a bit more about Ann's book. Actually, her title sums it up nicely (the mark of a good title!) - Hand's-off Cooking: Low-Supervision, High-Flavor Meals for Busy People. It falls into the "quick-and-easy / fix-it-and-forget-it" category of cookbook, but unlike many of these books Ann's recipes are fresh and contemporary - and I'd be willing to bet they taste good. In addition to the bread pudding, I earmarked Ann's Savory Carrot Bread (Chinese five-spice, pecans, and buttermilk!), and her Coconut Pie. Because I know many of you love glossy, full-color photo cookbooks, I should note that while Ann's book doesn't have a photo component, the fantastically colorful cover illustration by Beth Adams makes me smile each time I pick it up.

A couple notes regarding my experience with this recipe: A bread pudding is often baked in the pan it will be served. Knowing this, I like to take into consideration the baking vessel not only in terms of its function, but also its eye appeal. No one gets excited about a standard cake or baking pan, so I'm always on the hunt for interesting alternatives at flea markets and garage sales. I stash them away until I embark on a recipe like this one.

This recipe calls for a standard baking pan. In an effort to step up the presentation factor here, I let fashion trump function when I pulled the mother of all fluted, deep-dish tart pans from the shelf. The giant one with the removable bottom. Right. I'm aware I should know better, but I couldn't help myself. I was imagining an edible landscape of rustic bread chunks dotted with dill-flecked olives and asparagus - framed by the fluted sliver edge of my favorite tart pan.

Let's just say there was some leakage involved, not much, but enough that I'm thankful I put the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet before it went into the oven. Just a heads up, your bread pudding will look more moist than mine when finished.

I used a mix of the sourdough loaf and a whole wheat walnut loaf I had on hand. The walnuts added nice texture to contrast the moistness of the rest of the bread pudding. One thing to keep in mind, if you are substituting another type of bread, some of the whole grain flour and nut breads are quite heavy, heavier than a typical loaf of sourdough. I ended up using about 7 cups of bread cubes for this recipe.

As I mentioned above, you can prep all the ingredients for this the day before. The day you want to serve it you'll be five minutes from having it in the oven.

Thanks for the recipe Ann, and congratulations on the book!

More Ann-centric links:
http://www.sacatomato.com/(her blog)
http://www.handsoffcooking.com (book info)

Savory Asparagus Bread Pudding

Heidi's head notes: Best to use stale bread, leave it out a day or two. Be careful with those serrated knives, I've cut myself w/ the serrated knife on stale bread more times than I can count.

One 1-pound loaf sourdough or other crusty bread
3 cups milk
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1 pound asparagus
3 to 4 ounces oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan or casserole with nonstick cooking spray (hs note: I greased the pan w/ butter).

Using a serrated knife, cut the bread into 3/4-inch slices, then stack 4 or 5 slices of bread. Cut them into 3/4-inch cubes. Repeat with the remaining bread and put all of the cubes in a large bowl.

In medium bowl, whish together the milk, broth, eggs, salt, pepper, and dill until combined. Pour the mixture over the bread.

Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus and cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Add them to the bread along with the mushrooms and shallots. Fold everything together well to combine the ingredients. Spoon them into the prepared pan and pat down the top to compact the ingredients. Sprinkle the cheese evenly ever the top.

Bake the pudding for 45 minutes, or until the top is browned and crisp and there is no liquid in the center. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting into portions.

Ann's Stress Saver Tip: Look for frozen asparagus tips and bags of unseasoned bread cubes to save some prep time.

Ann's Eye Appeal Tip: Instead of mushrooms, ad 1 cup sliced pitted black olives for color contrast and a flavor complement to the asparagus (hs note: I went this route).

Serves 6-8.

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Categories: Breakfast / Brunch, Main Courses, Vegetarian Recipes

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