Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding

I've had my eye on this bread pudding recipe for a while. It took me a few weeks to gather all the ingredients, but I finally managed to make it. The Kidlet wasn't a fan, but TF and I both liked it. (Although I think it could've done with even more pancetta.)

Mushroom & Leek Break Pudding

Slightly adapted from The Modern Proper

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 50-100g pancetta, diced
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts or pecans⁴ (optional)
• 1 large or 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 450g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 0-1 tsp. coarse sea salt³
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 1 c. chicken stock¹
• 170g gruyere, grated, divided
• 5 c. chopped stale bread²

Directions

1. Heat oil and butter over medium heat.
2. Add pancetta and cook until slightly crisp.
3. Add leek and onion and cook until softened and lightly brown (~10 minutes).
4. Add mushrooms, tarragon, wine, salt, and pepper and cook until liquid is gone.
5. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.
6. In a bowl, beat eggs with cream, milk, chicken stock, and ~2/3 of the gruyere.
7. Stir in mushroom-leek mixture and bread chunks.
8. Let the mixture stand for 20-30 minutes so the bread absorbs most of the liquid.
9. Grease a 23x33cm (9x13") pan and preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
10. Dump the mixture into the prepared pan and top with the remaining cheese.
11. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-40 minutes.

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 6 Tbsp. chopped pecans⁵
• 1 large or 2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 450g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 0-1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 c. whole (3.25%) milk
• 1 c. vegetable or mushroom stock
• 170g gruyere, grated, divided
• 5 c. chopped stale bread

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¹ Only just now realized that I completely forgot to add the chicken stock. I thought it seemed a little dry! Oh well... ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for using fresh bread and baking it in the oven for a few minutes to get it a bit toasty and really dry and thirsty. My bread was already extremely stale, so I didn't bother with this step. If you're using fresh or only slightly stale bread, give it 10-15 minutes in a 350°F oven to get it ready to go before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. ^Back
3 The original recipe called for 2 tsp. of salt. I thought that sounded like a lot, so I did my usual and halved the salt. I found 1 tsp. to be about right, but I also forgot the chicken stock. If you're using a commercial broth or stock, it will likely already be quite salty. I'd probably leave out the salt entirely if using commercial stock. I might put in 1/2 tsp. if using a relatively lightly salted homemade stock. ^Back
4 The original recipe didn't call for any nuts and I didn't use any, but I think they'd go really well in this dish. I really liked it as it was, but I think the extra texture and flavour from the nuts would really kick it up a notch. ^Back
5 I've upped the amount of nuts for the vegetarian version because I think they become more essential when you omit the pancetta. And I think the slightly sweeter pecans will be a better match in this case. ^Back