I wanted to make a spectacular side for my roast chicken the other night and didn't want to make the same ol' same ol'. A loaf of walnut sourdough caught my eye and inspired me to put this savory bread pudding together. Essentially I just made a creme brulee recipe without the sugar and mixed it with toasted bread cubes and sauteed mushrooms.



It's a great hearty side, and if you wanted to get really impressive you could of course make it in individual ramekins. I made it in a medium-sized casserole dish with about 3-inch sides, because the bread pudding is presented in the dish it's made in, of course, so I wanted to choose an attractive one. Really any receptacle that's roughly the right size will do- a large pie pan, a square 9x9 pan, a large loaf pan, etc. If you double the recipe it should fit nicely into a 9x13 pan.

I used walnut bread for taste and texture, but if you're not into that, use a loaf of your choosing. I think a sourdough or whole grain bread adds textural and flavor interest to the bread pudding though, and I wouldn't recommend using a soft loaf like challah or brioche in this application.

Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1/2 loaf (8 oz) hearty bread, cut into 1 inch squares
• 3 Tblsp olive oil
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• leaves from about 10 sprigs of thyme
• 2 Tbslp butter
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms (I used crimini)
• 2 large shallots, sliced thinly
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 whole eggs
• salt and pepper
  
• about 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375. Put bread in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, garlic, thyme, and a large pinch of salt.
• Spread bread cubes out in a single layer on a parchment-covered baking sheet and bake about 20 minutes, until golden and crunchy. Return to bowl.
• Turn oven down to 350.
• Melt butter in a saute pan over high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Add to bowl with bread cubes. Stir bread and mushrooms together to combine.
• Combine cream, yolks and egg well (I like to put them in a jar and shake them to mix, but you can use a whisk or fork in a bowl.) Add about 1 tsp of salt and about 10 grinds of pepper (1/2 tsp or so.)
• Pour bread and mushrooms into casserole dish. Press down so it's pretty tightly packed. Pour cream mixture over. Sprinkle parmesan on top and bake about 40-45 minutes, until custard is set and cheese is crusty. Serve immediately.