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kale and sausage bread pudding

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Nik Sharma

Hey Friends, I’m a multi-award-winning and best-selling cookbook author and photographer.


kale and sausage bread pudding | A Brown Table

Visiting M’s parent’s on their little farm out in Virigina, is always a treat! It’s quiet, the internet is slow so you’re basically cut off from the world but in many ways it’s a blessing. You get to disconnect from everything else that’s going on and you’re forced to relax. You get to appreciate everything you have in your life a little more and start to pay attention to things around you. In many ways it’s the best gift we could give ourselves. A brief respite from our lives. 

For some reason, it was apparently colder in CA than it was here on the East Coast, this Christmas. It’s been raining like crazy, the fields were soaked in water and there were many moments that I almost slipped and broke my behind in the muck when I went to visit the mules and animals on the farm. M’s mom loves her animals and raises goats that she milks herself to make goat milk soap. A couple of years ago, she taught me how to milk a goat, it’s an interesting experience! I don’t even know how to describe it. They now have two donkeys and they protect the goats from coyotes! I had no idea donkeys could scare coyotes off. 

Christmas morning, I baked a batch of popovers from Bon Appetit Christmas issue and some cheddar biscuits with herbs. Basically, we’ve been eating constantly every day. There is no rest for the tummy when we go to visit family. I think it is the general theme of our family vacations for both of us as we don’t visit that them often so our trip transforms into a daily request of all our favorite dishes that we’ve missed.  

On one morning, I baked a kale and sausage bread pudding with M’s mom. So here she is cooking with me in the kitchen and we’re cooking a savory bread pudding (in many ways this is also a casserole). 

I’m also giving away this gorgeous baking dish from Le Creuset! All you need to do is a leave a comment and tell me what you want to cook in it and I will pick a randomwinner! The contest is only open to legal US residents and ends on January 3rd 2016 at 12 pm. Have an amazing New Year friends!!!


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kale and sausage bread pudding | A Brown Table


kale and sausage bread pudding | A Brown Table


kale and sausage bread pudding | A Brown Table


kale and sausage bread pudding | A Brown Table


kale and sausage bread pudding | A Brown Table


kale and sausage bread pudding | A Brown Table


kale and sausage bread pudding| A Brown Table


DSC_4377 - Version 2.jpg

Here are some kitchen tips that you might find useful when preparing this dish;

  • I added less salt than I normally would since the sausage I used was heavily seasoned. Adjust your salt amounts if you know that how the sausage will taste. I prefer to stick to the lower amount because you can always sprinkle a little salt later over the pudding when serving.
  • Use whatever type of kale or bread you like. Mustard greens and chard leaves will also work well in this recipe. 


kale and sausage bread pudding | A Brown Table


Peacock in Virginia | A Brown Table

kale and sausage bread pudding

yields: 2 servings

ingredients

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat or rye bread country style, diced into 1″ cubes

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup cooked Italian breakfast sausage (I used spicy pork)

2 cups whole milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

1 cup packed kale leaves, torn (midrib discarded)

5 fresh sage leaves, julienned

1. Place a wire rack at midlevel in the oven and preheat to 375F. Take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Mix the cubes pieces of bread along with the olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Spread this out on the lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes until the bread is browned and crispy. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. 

2. Take a medium-sized skillet and heat on medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage and cook until the sausage is completely cooked and lightly browned.  Drain the fat and keep the sausage aside. 

3. Lightly butter a 1 quart oval baking dish and keep aside. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, baking powder, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Fold in the kale, sage, and sausage. Carefully fold in the toasted croutons. Pour the mixture into the baking dish, lightly wrap with cling film and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

4. Place a wire rack at midlevel in the oven and preheat to 400F. Remove the cling film and bake the pudding for 30 to 35 minutes until the center is firm to touch. A knife should come out clean from the center of the bread pudding. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack. Serve warm. 

Disclaimer: Thank you to Le Creuset for sponsoring this giveaway. All opinions expressed are purely my own.

46 Responses

  1. This looks so delicious!!! Savory and comforting. If I won the first thing I would make in the dish would be a spaghetti squash spinach casserole. I need something healthier after all the holiday treats.

  2. Totally in love with all of these pictures of the farm! A treat indeed!

    I’m such a sucker for bread pudding. Everyone is like "Stuffing stuffing stuffing!" and I think they’re all missing out on an opportunity to make something truly special. Beautifully done!

    So, yeah, first thing I’d probably bake in it is a savory bread pudding… then I’d move on to mac and cheese. 🙂

    Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!

  3. Kugelis – lithuanian potato pudding. cause I will never have enough potatoes.
    And then an apple crumble to finish it off.

    Cheers and Happy New Years!

  4. I’m a little obsessed with baked oatmeal these days so I’m sure that would be the first thing I’d bake in this gorgeous pan. Maybe a nice winter version with pomegranate, cocoa nibs & lots of orange zest 🙂

  5. Oh, I think it’d only be fitting to make this yummy looking kale and sausage bread pudding!! Love the pics of your vacay! The rolling hills in the fog is amazing!

  6. I’ve got a most delicious egg-based recipe with asparagus and Zucchini and spiced with Cinnamon and allspice! I’d love to make it in this dish!

  7. This looks yummy! I would definitely have to make this bread pudding first and then use it for all kinds of delicious treats 🙂

  8. Wow, what a gorgeous farm! Loved all the pictures. I would cook a recipe I got from a friend years ago and have not made in a while; Cheesy chicken broccoli casserole!
    Thank you for sharing your holidays with us!

  9. These photos are lovely, Nik. I’m glad you had such a fulfilling visit down in Virginia with family. Well done.

    As for what I would cook should I win the LeCreuset bakeware, aside from this delicious bread pudding, perhaps a winter apple crisp with bits of ginger, garnished with pomegranate seeds…..

    Have a very Happy New Year.

    D

  10. Nik, I would love to say I would make the most exquisite recipe but who am I kidding? I’d make the most cozy bread pudding. Sigh! 🙂

  11. That looks amazing Nik. Bread pudding is so delicious! On a recent weekend getaway, I had this delicious banana bread pudding with a reduced rum sauce. I would try to recreate that.

  12. I will make a Mac and Cheese with all the Christmas cheeses we got! 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀

  13. Your right I’m layering up for the first time I’ve been living in California it’s so cold "for us." What I would cook in that lovely le creuset would be anything that required a nice saute with wine…all my pots are stainless steel so using wine makes the dish metallic tasting. Happy feasting.

  14. It’s so chilly in The Bay Area. I’d like to warm myself with a nice bowl of Filipino karekare. This dish is just big enough to braise a few pieces of oxtail for two…

  15. Brand new reader here! How lovely it is to see such natural beauty and be inspired by its simplicity. I would make a creamy potato-kale gratin in this gorgeous dish! Thanks for the post!

  16. I live in Oregon, so I know what you’re saying about the weather lol. But, at least Oregon shouldn’t have a drought this summer. We have gotten PLENTY of rain already. It rained 27 days out of 31 in December and it flooded plenty. Back to that Le Creuset dish! I would love to win and make homemade mac n cheese with bacon and sweet onions first.Thanks for the chance!

  17. I think this is the perfect Le Creuset dish for making my Onion Fennel Gratin topped with aged Pecorino!!!

  18. I’d make my family’s special macaroni and cheese, we put wholegrain mustard and another secret ingredient in the sauce!

  19. Yes….this december we at east coast have been spoiled by the nature…it’s been unbelievably warm, i’m not complaining….now on to Le cruset dish…i would love to bake this savoury bread pudding but eggless version as bread pudding has been on my to do list from very long and if it’s savoury version whole family will love it for sure.

  20. Omg these PHOTOS! So, so, so beautiful. Between that beautiful countryside and this gorgeous bread pudding, I could stare at them all day. Also, "There is no rest for the tummy when we go to visit family." HAHA truer words have never been said. Happiest new year, Nik!!! It has been such a fantastic 2015 following your blog (and meeting you for the first time!!!) and I can’t wait to see what 2016 brings.

  21. The pictures are amazing! I would like to bake some maple and cranberry pudding, if I get my hands on this lovely baking piece!

  22. OMG, Nik, you’re amazing! These photos captured the atmosphere of your parent’s farm in a way that warms the heart and makes the viewer feel like they’re there. I especially love the photos of the goats because it reminds me of my family’s little dairy farm a few years ago. Happy New Year!

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