I was pretty sure this recipe was going to be good after reading through the ingredients, and I was right! I had planned ahead and made a loaf of French bread earlier in the week (the recipe I used for the Spiral Stromboli made 2 loaves of bread). I knew I had to make this recipe soon, because if I didn’t, Andrew was going to eat that loaf of bread!
This recipe goes together pretty quickly, which is nice when you don’t want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen…like on a Friday evening. 🙂
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Serves: 6
oil for dish
4 large eggs
1-1/2 c. whole milk
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/8 t. freshly grated or ground nutmeg
Kosher salt & pepper
1 12-oz loaf French or Italian bread, cut into 1″ pieces
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4″ thick wedges
1 crisp red apple (such as Gala or Braeburn), cut into 1/4″ thick wedges
4 oz sliced ham, torn into 2″ pieces (I had a 7-oz container, so I just threw it all in there)
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
green salad, for serving
1. Heat oven to 350F/180C. Oil a 2-1/2 to 3-quart baking dish (I just used a 9×13″ pan). In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper.
2. Add the bread and let sit, tossing occasionally, for 5 minutes.
I cut up the rest of my ingredients while the bread was soaking, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to show the quickest way I know to cut an onion:
First cut off the non-root end (the part without the hair-like things). Peel off the skin. Cut the onion in half through the root (this will keep the onion held together). Now make slices through the onion (like the picture above), making sure not to cut through the root. Then just slice off the root end, and there you go! Okay, back to the recipe…
3. Fold the onion, apple, ham, and cheese into the bread mixture.
4. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Bake until set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (cover the bread pudding with foil if it browns too quickly), 45-50 minutes.
Serve with salad, if desired. Which we did:
What a great dinner! I love starting a meal off with a nice salad, and this bread pudding was both filling and flavorful. I can’t wait to make this one again!
**Each serving has about 367 calories, 13 g fat, 155 mg cholesterol, 830 mg sodium, 20 g protein, 42 g carbohydrates, and 2 g fiber. If you use more ham like I did, these numbers obviously won’t be right. 🙂
On An Even Kiel 