I stash away the ends of bread loaves in the freezer, and when my freezer bag is full, I love to make a big dish of bread pudding—particularly the savory variety (if you haven’t noticed, I’m not super keen on sweets). For this Greek-style Bread Pudding, my bag was more than 3/4 full with kalamata olive bread. The other bits were made from no-knead bread in a hurry and a kaiser roll.
Using a recipe from Cooking Light as a guide, I assembled this bright but rich vegetarian main course. Spinach, tomato and low-fat milk made this healthier than bread puddings I’ve prepared/encountered in the past. And the salty feta and fatty egg yolks provided all the guilty-tasting pleasure we could ask for.
Not a bad end for old bread.
Greek-style Bread Pudding
6 cups cubed kalamata bread (or 6 cups cubed bread + 1/2 cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 glove garlic, minced
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, drained
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
4 ounces crumbled feta
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
4 large eggs
2 cups low-fat milk
Instructions
Butter a deep 13X9″ casserole dish.
Preheat oven to a 500° broil. Spread bread cubes onto a baking sheet, and toast for 10 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven. Turn oven temperature down to 350°.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium frying pan. Add onion and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, until onion is translucent. Stir in spinach, and cook off remaining moisture. Remove pan from heat, and mix in sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, half of the feta, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Whisk together eggs, milk, and remaining salt.
In the casserole dish, toss together bread and spinach mixture. Pour egg mixture over the bread, and top with remaining cheese. Bake bread pudding for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until golden and puffy.
Serves 4 for a main course and 6 as a side