Mediterranean Summer Bread Pudding
 
 
Author:
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients
  • 6 large slices whole wheat bread
  • 1 cup baby spinach, tightly packed
  • 5 artichoke hearts, thinly sliced
  • 12 black olives
  • ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 4 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp allspice powder
  • ½ tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 tbsp shredded pecorino cheese
  • Unsalted butter to grease the pan
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree fahrenheit and butter a 9 inch baking pan.
  2. Cut the crusts off the bread slices and cut them into ½ inch cubes.
  3. Cut the baby spinach finely.
  4. Slice the artichoke hearts thinly.
  5. Slice the black olives into thin circles.
  6. In a large pan, mix together the bread cubes, spinach, artichoke hearts and olives. Make sure that the vegetables are not wet so that the bread doesn’t get soggy.
  7. Transfer the bread and vegetable mix to the buttered baking pan and spread evenly.
  8. Spread the crumbled cheese evenly over the bread mix.
  9. Beat the eggs well with the milk. Add olive oil, lemon zest and juice, allspice and cumin powders, red chilli flakes, and oregano. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix thoroughly.
  10. Pour this mixture over the bread and cheese.
  11. Keep aside for 30 minutes to allow the bread cubes to soak in the liquid.
  12. After 30 minutes, gently press down the contents of the pan and sprinkle the top with the pecorino cheese.
  13. Loosely cover the pan with aluminium foil and place in the heated oven.
  14. Bake for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil and continue baking uncovered for another 10 minutes or till the cheese starts to get brown spots.
  15. Slice and serve with a tomato salad on the side. A semi-dry white wine goes well with this Mediterranean summer bread pudding.
Recipe by Pepper Route at https://pepperroute.com/mediterranean-summer-bread-pudding/