Tartine Bakery: I’m head over heels with this bakery and I’ve never even been there. When my sister moved into her tiny dorm room at business school, she, reluctantly, had to leave behind a large portion of her cookbook collection at home. After she left for school, I waited a couple days, then thought “those cookbooks really shouldn’t go to waste just sitting on the shelves of her old room.” So I decided to just borrow a couple of them. One of the cookbooks I “checked out” from Katina was Tartine.
Tartine Bakery is a small bakery and cafe in San Francisco. The book is beautifully put together and has a long list of mouth watering desserts. Some of the recipes include Brioche Bread Pudding, Pumpkin Tea Cakes, Banana Cream Pie, Cheddar Cheese Crackers… and the list goes on and on. After I became thouroughly engrossed in this cookbook, my cousin Mary, coincidently, sent me an email saying that she had found the most beautiful bread book – and that she just had to buy two. When I got to my office the next day, the Tartine Bread cookbook was sitting on my desk! I didn’t even know they had published another cookbook. So now I have 2 beautiful cookbooks from this bakery and am obsessed with the place with out even visiting!
This Savory Bread Pudding comes from Tartine Bread cookbook. It was so easy to make and, as it says in the recipe header, “is nearly impossible to mess up… and It even souffles while it’s baking.” One more great thing about this recipe: you can assemble this dish ahead of time and store it in the refrigertator. Just be sure to allow the dish to come to room temperature before baking.
I’ve included the original recipe below, but I made some adjustments due to the produce available in my refrigerator. The recipe call for leeks, mushrooms, radicchio, and basic country bread but I substituted onions, garlic, arugula, and rosemary ciabatta bread. You can substitute any ingredients you like for the filling– just be sure to keep the ingredients and quantities of the custard the same (that is what makes this dish souffle)!
For the filling
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 leeks, white parts only, finely chopped
½ c. dry white wine
Olive oil
2 lbs. assorted mushrooms (like chanterelles and porcini), stems trimmed and caps halved
1 head Treviso or other radicchio, leaves separated
For the custard
5 large eggs
½ tsp. salt
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
2/3 c. grated Gruyere or cheddar cheese
3 oz. smoked ham, chopped
2 slices day-old Basic Country Bread (recipe in book), torn into large chunks
½ c. grated Gruyere or cheddar cheese
1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute until soft, 6-8 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the wine evaporates, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is smoking, arrange the mushrooms cut-side down in the pan and cook without stirring until seared and caramelized, about 1 minute more. Stir the mushrooms, add the radicchio, and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Season to taste. Remove from heat.
3. Preheat the oven to 375º.
4. To make the custard, in a bowl, whisk the eggs and salt until well blended. Add the cream, milk, pepper, nutmeg, thyme, cheese, and ham, and whisk to combine.
5. Place the bread chunks in an 8-inch souffle dish and add the leeks, mushrooms, and radicchio. Pour in the custard so that it comes all the way to the rim. Sprinkle evenly with the grated cheese. Let stand 8-10 minutes until the custard saturates the bread.
6. Bake until the custard is no longer runny in the center, about 50 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
