Broccoli Rabe and Bacon Bread Pudding
People ask me, “Where do you find the recipes for your cookbooks?” Like many good home cooks, chefs, and food writers, I search my favorite websites, magazines, newspaper food columns, and cookbooks for inspiration. And while I might be inspired by a particular recipe, I am always careful to modify it according to my own preferences and to carefully test my changes, often many times to get it right.
My son Nicholas brought home his lovely girlfriend Alex for Easter dinner, and I wanted something different to serve with the rosemary-infused, partially boned leg of lamb I was grilling indirectly over a bed of smoky charcoal. Bon Appetit’s April issue offered a savory bread pudding with pancetta. To make my own version, I increased the olive oil, substituted American bacon for the Italian pancetta, and added a good amount of onions (for a touch of sweetness) that I sauteed in some of the rendered bacon fat. I reduced the amounts of Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes, and tossed in some chopped fresh rosemary, which works nicely with broccoli rape. I also chose to blanch the broccoli rabe before sauteeing it, removing some of its unpleasant bitterness and allowing the pudding’s other flavors to shine through.
Fortunately, Nicholas and Alex loved it. Here’s my version, with a big thanks to Bon Appetit!
Butter for greasing baking dish
1 medium bunch broccoli rabe, (rapini), trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
3 slices thick-cut bacon
2/3 cup chopped onion
6 large eggs
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 pound country-style white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Ingredient Preparation Notes:
Trim off and discard about 3 inches of stems from the broccoli rabe; then chop it into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces.
If you don’t own a kitchen scale, do yourself a favor and buy one. It’s so much more accurate to use a scale to measure ingredients like bread cubes than to use a measuring cup. Digital kitchen scales are also available, and some cooks find them easier to use than this one pictured.
Recipe:
1.) Butter a 1-1/ quart baking dish. Position an oven rack in the middle and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2.) Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a large saucepan. Add the broccoli rape, cover the pan and cook until the broccoli rape is wilted but still a bright green, about 3 minutes. Drain the broccoli rape in a colander and set it aside.
3.) Wipe the saucepan dry with a paper towel; add the olive oil and heat it over medium heat. Add the rosemary, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and cook about 30 seconds or until the garlic is fragrant and softened, but not browned.
4.) Add the broccoli rabe and cook about 1 minute, tossing to coat in the oil-rosemary mixture. Remove from the heat and set aside.
5.) Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat about 4 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off and discard all but about 1/2 tablespoon fat in the skillet.
Recipe Note: Cook the bacon only until it’s lightly browned. When it cooks again in the oven atop the pudding, you want some fat remaining, so it renders into the pudding, adding moisture as well as flavor.
6.) Heat the bacon fat in the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute about 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
Recipe Note: I like to saute the onions until lightly browned and slightly caramelized so they release some of the natural sweetness.
5.) Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add the broccoli rabe mixture, bread, Parmesan cheese, and onions, and toss well to combine.
6.) Transfer the mixture to the buttered baking dish. Cut each of the bacon strips into thirds and lay them over the pudding. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and bake 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake about 5 to 10 minutes more until lightly browned and set in the center.
Kitchen Tip: Compost your vegetable discards!
Trimmed leaves, citrus peels, and vegetables that have seen better days don’t need to end up in the garbage. These are gold scraps that are easily composted. Just find a spot in your garden where you can dig a small pit, then keep filling it with vegetable scraps you’d otherwise throw out. Cover the scraps with leaves and dirt, and in a matter of weeks you’ll have rich soil to mulch back into your roses and other garden treasures.
