Spinach And Tasso Bread Pudding With Gruyere Cheese

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of good french bread (16 ounce)


• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


• 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped


• 6 -10 cloves garlic, minced (however much you like)


• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry with squeezings reserved


• 8 ounces tasso, diced (or substitute regular smoked ham, andouille sausage or any good smoked sausage)


• salt & freshly ground black pepper


• 1 cup medium-dry wine (don't use chardonnay)


• 12 ounces gruyere cheese, grated (substitute a good swiss or monterey jack)


• 12 large eggs


• 3 1/2 cups half-and-half


• 2 tablespoons molasses


• 3 -5 dashes worcestershire sauce


• 3 -5 dashes hot sauce


• creole seasoning (tony chacheries)

Recipe

• 1 slice the bread into 1/2" slices and let dry out overnight.


• 2 you may also dry them in a 200-225°f oven for about 30-40 minutes until they're completely dried; make sure you don't brown them.


• 3 heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy skillet (don't use non-stick).


• 4 add the diced tasso.


• 5 brown the tasso for 5 minutes until some of the fat has been rendered out and you've got some nice brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.


• 6 remove from pan, drain on papertowels and set aside.


• 7 add the wine to the pan, making sure to scrape up all the browned bits.


• 8 reduce the wine by half.


• 9 pour out into a large bowl and set aside.


• 10 in the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter with the rest of the olive oil.


• 11 add the onions and garlic.


• 12 sauté for about 3 minutes, until onions are translucent.


• 13 add the spinach water and let it reduce.


• 14 add the chopped spinach.


• 15 continue to cook for 3 minutes, making sure that there's hardly any moisture left.


• 16 transfer to a bowl and set aside.


• 17 whisk the eggs in a large bowl.


• 18 add the half-and-half.


• 19 add the molasses, worcestershire, hot sauce, the reduced wine, about 2 teaspoons of salt, plenty of fresh ground black pepper and creole seasoning to taste.


• 20 butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish.


• 21 make one layer of dried bread slices on the bottom.


• 22 use little broken-off pieces if you need to fill any little spaces.


• 23 cover the bread evenly with the spinach mixture.


• 24 sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the grated cheese.


• 25 spread the diced tasso evenly over the cheese.


• 26 season with more creole seasoning and pepper.


• 27 sprinkle with more cheese.


• 28 add a second layer of bread,filling the holes with broken pieces as needed.


• 29 give the custard a final mix with the whisk and pour evenly over the entire surface of the bread, making sure you wet everything.


• 30 season the top with more black pepper and creole seasoning, the remaining cheese and a sprinkling of salt.


• 31 wrap the pudding in plastic wrap.


• 32 weigh the top down with a couple of boxes of brown sugar, a bag or rice or whatever you have available.


• 33 this helps compress the layers of the pudding so that the custard will soak all the way through allowing it to cook more evenly.


• 34 refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.


• 35 when ready to cook,take the pudding out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.


• 36 bake in a preheated oven at 325-350°f for about one hour, until the edges and center are puffy.


• 37 let the pudding cool for about 5 minutes.


• 38 slice and serve.