Individual Goat Cheese And Rosemary Bread Puddings Best Recipes

SAVORY BREAD PUDDING WITH BROCCOLI AND GOAT CHEESE

Ingredients:

• 5 to 6 ounces stale baguette or whole wheat country bread, crusts removed, cut into 3/4-inch slices if it isn't too hard to cut (see note)
• 1 1/2 cups milk (low-fat or regular)
• 2 large garlic cloves, 1 cut in half, 1 minced
• 1/2 pound broccoli crowns
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
• 4 large eggs
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 pound ripe, firm tomatoes, sliced (optional)

Steps:

• Rub the bread slices, front and back, with the cut clove of garlic. Cut into cubes. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 cup of the milk and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients. Note: If the bread is too hard to cut safely, place the whole chunk in a bowl with 1 cup of the milk. Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer, turning the bread in the milk every once in a while. Remove the bowl with the soaked bread from the refrigerator. Break up the bread with your hands. Using a wooden spoon, a whisk or an immersion blender, mash or beat the soaked bread so that the mixture turns into a mush.
• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and goat cheese. Beat in the milk. Add salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon), a few twists of pepper and the bread, along with any milk remaining in the bowl in which you soaked the bread. Stir well to combine. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the sides of a 2-quart baking dish or gratin with the cut side of a garlic clove. Oil or butter the dish. Mince any remaining garlic from the halves you used to rub the bread and the dish. Break up the broccoli crowns into florets and steam for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and cut the florets into 1/2-inch slices, or chop coarsely.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add the minced garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and stir in 1 teaspoon of the thyme, the broccoli, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir together for a minute, until the broccoli is nicely seasoned, and remove from the heat. Stir into the bread mixture.
• Scrape the bread mixture into the baking dish. If including tomatoes, scrape in half the bread mixture and layer half the tomatoes on top. Spread the remaining bread mixture over the tomatoes and top with the remaining tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the remaining thyme and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake 50 minutes, until puffed, set and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and serve hot or warm.

INDIVIDUAL GOAT CHEESE AND ROSEMARY BREAD PUDDINGS

Ingredients:

• about 1/4 pound country-style bread with crust
• 6 ounces aged goat cheese (such as Coach Farm)
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and butter six 1/2-cup ramekins.
• Discard crust from bread and tear enough bread into large pieces to measure 2 1/2 cups. Cut away rind from goat cheese, discarding it, and crumble cheese into 1/4-inch pieces. Mince rosemary leaves. In a food processor pulse bread in 2 batches until mostly coarse crumbs (there will be some fine crumbs). In a bowl toss together bread crumbs, goat cheese, and rosemary leaves.
• In a large bowl whisk together eggs, cream, milk, and salt and pepper to taste and stir in bread crumb mixture until combined well. Divide mixture evenly among ramekins. Put ramekins in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake puddings in middle of oven until puffed and golden, about 35 minutes. Transfer ramekins to a rack and cool puddings 10 minutes (puddings will sink as they cool). Serve puddings warm.

SAVORY GOAT CHEESE AND TOMATO BREAD PUDDING

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 12 slices good-quality white sandwich bread, crusts trimmed off (about 8 ounces total)
• 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled, or 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 8 ounces (1 pint basket) red or yellow cherry tomatoes, stemmed, and cut in half if large
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons prepared pesto
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or aged Asiago cheese

Steps:

• Grease the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish or other shallow 3-quart baking pan.
• Butter each bread slice on one side. Stack the bread, 6 at a time, and cut on the diagonal into triangles. Place half of the bread pieces, buttered sides down, in the bottom of the prepared dish. Scatter the goat or feta cheese over the bread in one layer. Scatter the cherry tomatoes over the cheese. Top with the remaining buttered bread pieces, buttered sides up.
• In a bowl with a whisk, beat eggs, milk and pesto until well-blended. Pour over the bread and cheese mixture in the dish. Tamp down the top pieces of bread lightly with the back of a fork so that they soak up some liquid. Sprinkle the top with the grated cheese. Cover the dish tightly with foil and refrigerate overnight.
• To serve, remove the dish from the refrigerator and place it in a cold oven; turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Bake for 35 minutes with the foil on; remove foil and continue to bake until pudding is puffed and golden brown on top, 25 to 30 more minutes.