Some weeks at our house Dave runs us out of bread by the time it's grocery shopping day, but more often than not, there's anywhere from a few slices to most of a loaf left. Since I hate food waste, stratas and bread puddings come to the rescue. They're the ultimate make-ahead food, and wonderfully adaptable: Other than the custard base and the ratio of liquid to bread, everything else is negotiable flavorwise. So whatever else you've got a partial jar of can go right on in.
Ham, Gruyere
and spinach bread pudding
Adapted from
Eating Well April/May 2006
Ingredients
4 eggs
4 egg whites
1 cup skim
milk (or whatever dairy goodness you've got on hand that needs using up)
2
tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon
pepper
1 teaspoon
chopped fresh rosemary
4 cups cubed
whole wheat bread
5 cups
chopped fresh spinach
½ cup
chopped roasted red peppers
1 cup diced
ham
¾ cup grated
Gruyere cheese
Method
Wash spinach
leaves and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover loosely and microwave for
about 2 minutes until wilted. (You can do this in olive oil on a stove top, but
you’d be adding a few calories along with that flavor. Oh well.)
Whisk eggs,
egg whites and milk in a large bowl. Mix in mustard, pepper and rosemary. Stir
in bread cubes, spinach, red pepper and ham.
Grease a
2-quart casserole or 11- by 7-inch pan. Pour mixture into the pan, pressing
bread cubes below surface of the liquid.
(At this
point you can cover the dish and refrigerate overnight or until ready to bake.
Bring the pan to room temperature before proceeding.)
Preheat oven
to 375 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes and then remove from oven. Top with the
cheese that you’ve nearly forgotten about by now and bake for another 15
minutes or so until puffed and golden. Let stand for a few minutes so it sets
up a bit before you try extracting it from the pan.
Rating: Another perfectly viable strata recipe. Since this is from Eating Well, you'll note that it never calls for any salt, but with the ham, you don't really seem to need any.
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