Another ‘sustainable food’ recipe involving stale bread. Rather than discarding it, I came up with this bread and butter pudding. It became a favorite!
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 45-50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups (350 ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 4 eggs
- rind of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- pinch of nutmeg
- 6 slices of old country bread, crust removed and cut up into large cubes
- 1/4 cup (40 g) mixed raisins, sultanas, diced dried apricots or cranberries
- 2 Tbsp cognac or rum
- 2 Tbsp pistachios crushed
Preparation:
Add the cognac or rum and the dried fruits to a small bowl and let it soak until you ready with the other recipe steps.
Bring milk, heavy cream, lemon rind, sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Keep a close eye and do not let it boil. Set aside for 15 minutes to infuse and cool down.
Remove lemon rind. Whisk the eggs and then add the milk-cream mixture. Butter a deep ovenproof dish, about 6×9 inches (15×22 cm). Layer the bread cubes on the dish bottom. Sprinkle with the soaked dried fruits mixture. Add another layer of bread. Sprinkle with the remaining dried fruits. Pour milk cream-egg mixture over the bread. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Press the bread into the cream and make sure that the bread is well submerged and the cream is absorbed by the bread. Sprinkle with the crushed pistachios. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the top is richly golden brown. Serve warm or cold.
