Many times, we tend to make the same dishes over and over again. I am striving to make less common dishes. I came across this recipe and thought, why not?
When you think of bread pudding, tomatoes do not come to mind. This tomato bread pudding is savory, not sweet. It makes a nice side dish, or main dish if you are a vegetarian. It’s full of provencale flavor and is really quite filling.
Butter a 13 x 9 baking dish
You will need 3 lbs of Plum tomatoes.
Cut the tomatoes in half.
Place tomatoes in a large mixing bowl.
Add 2 teaspoons of Herbes de Provence. Make sure to use a good quality brand. Some Herbes de Provence are too heavy on one ingredient. The one I use has a nice balance of ingredients.
Toss the tomatoes with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper.
Place the tomato halves on a heavy duty cookie sheet, face up.
Place a whole head of garlic, cut with the top exposed, or a hand full of peeled garlic cloves, on a sheet of foil, and drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil. Wrap it and roast it on the same tray as the tomatoes. Roast the tomatoes and garlic at 400 degrees F. for 50 – 60 minutes, until the tomatoes are browned, but not dried out.
Cut up a loaf of Italian Country style bread into 1 inch cubes. If you can not find Italian Country Style bread, then the next best bet is a rustic French bread.
Next step is to toss the cubed bread with the remaining olive oil, spread out the bread on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let the bread cool.
Place the browned bread into the buttered baking dish.
Remove the yummy roasted tomatoes and set aside.
Remove roasted garlic from foil and mash it up to make a puree.
Place eggs, milk, cream, garlic puree, salt & pepper in a large mixing bowl and whisk. Then stir in the cheeses.
Pour the egg mixture over the bread.
Now add the tomatoes, pushing some of them down in between the bread.
Top with roasted tomatoes and place in preheated oven at 350 degrees F. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, until firm. Your kitchen will smell like the south of France.
Remove from oven and serve.
Enjoy!!!
Ingredients:
3 lbs plum tomatoes
2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 loaf country style Italian bread (1 pound), cubed.
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 head of garlic or about 15 – 20 cloves of garlic, peeled.
8 large eggs
2 cups grated Fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Butter a 13 x 9 baking dish.
Cut the tomatoes in half. In a large mixing bowl, toss the tomatoes with the herbes de provence, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper.
Place the tomatoes on a heavy baking sheet, cut sides up
Place 15 – 20 cloves of peeled garlic on a sheet of foil, wrap up and place on the same baking sheet as the tomatoes. Roast the tomatoes and garlic for 50 – 60 minutes, until the tomatoes are browned but not dried out, and the garlic is soft.
While the tomatoes and garlic are roasting, cut up the loaf of bread into approx. 1 inch cubes. Toss the bread in a large mixing bowl with the remaining olive oil, and spread on a cookie sheet. Brown in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let the bread cool. Please the browned bread into the buttered baking dish.
Remove the garlic from the foil and smash it with a fork, to make a puree.
Place eggs, milk, cream, garlic puree, salt & pepper in a large mixing bowl and whisk. Then stir in the cheeses. Pour the egg mixture over the bread. Now add the tomatoes, pushing some of them down in between the bread, with a fork.
Top with roasted tomatoes and place in preheated oven at 350 degrees F. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, until firm.
Serves 6 – 8
Recipe : courtesy of Gourmet magazine, (with some minor adjustments )
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