Asparagus and Morel Bread Pudding

"Came across this recipe in The Washington Post & am saving to use for Easter Dinner. Full of things that sing spring to me - eggs, asparagus, morels & green garlic. Much of it can be readily available in home gardens - not the morels though. I have my patches throughout the country but, sorry, not telling where any of them are. Green garlic (immature garlic whose leaves are still green) is simmered with the milk for flavor. I did not try to list green garlic in the ingredients - it was driving me wild. Dried mushrooms will work for this dish as well - readily available on-line if not in your locale. Adapted from Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors" (Broadway Books, 2002)."
 
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Ready In:
1hr 50mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
6
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ingredients

  • 1 bulb of garlic, coarsely chopped (may substitute 8-10 cloves regular garlic)
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 lb bread, rustic white, torn into chunks (preferably stale)
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt
  • 2 lbs asparagus (peeled, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1/3-inch pieces and soaked in cold water)
  • 3 tablespoons butter, unsalted
  • 1 shallot, finely diced (2 to 3 tablespoons)
  • 1 lb morel (or chanterelle)
  • 34 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
  • 4 eggs, large
  • 13 cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons marjoram, finely chopped
  • 2 cups Fontina cheese, freshly grated (or Gruyere)
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directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-by-12-inch baking or gratin dish.
  • Combine the garlic and milk in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then remove from the heat and set aside to steep (5 to 8 minutes).
  • If the bread is not stale, lay it on a large baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes until crisp (but not hard, or the pudding will be mushy). Put bread in a large dish. Pour the milk through a strainer over the bread (discarding the garlic) and let it sit while you prepare the vegetables, turning the bread occasionally so that it soaks up as much of the liquid as possible.
  • Fill a large skillet 2/3 of the way with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lightly salt the water and add the asparagus pieces; cook about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
  • Melt half the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 1 minute, stirring, then add the mushrooms. Increase the heat to high and cook for several minutes, stirring, until the mushrooms brown in places and exude their liquid. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Break the eggs into a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the parsley, tarragon or marjoram, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Add the soaked bread and any liquid left in the dish, the asparagus-mushroom mixture and its juices and 2/3 of the cheese, mixing well. Pour into the prepared baking or gratin dish and use a spatula to even it out. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and dot with the remaining butter.
  • Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until puffed and golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>First about Buster: Buster moved onto whatever comes next on February 26, 2008. He was just shy of five years old. I miss him terribly. <br />He came into our lives when he ran out in front of my car late one night as I was driving home. A just under 4 pound ball of kitten fluff, complete with an ostrich boa tail that stayed straight up as he assessed his new domain. He became a 19 pound longhaired beast who guarded our house (he followed any new guests or servicepeople the entire time they are on the property) &amp; even killed copperheads (among other things with his hunting buddy, Fergus the short-tailed)! Friends never saw his formidible side as he smiled at them &amp; uttered the most incongruent kitten-like mews as he threaded legs! He liked to ride in the car &amp; came to the beach. <br />There are Buster-approved recipes in my offerings - however, HE decided which he wanted to consider - Buster demonstrated he liked pumpkin anything - ALOT -LOL!!! <br /> <br />Copperhead count 2006 - Buster 2 <br /> (10 inchers w/yellow tails) <br /> 2007 - Buster &amp; Roxie 1 <br /> (a 24 incher!) <br />Buster woken from beauty sleep - <br />http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/62264/DSCN0335.JPG <br />Big whiskers - <br />http://www.recipezaar.com/members/home/62264/DSCN0333.JPG <br /> <br />For those of you who gave kind condolences - thank you so very much. <br />http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=250301 <br /> <br /> <br />I love to cook &amp; incorporate techniques from Southern/Mid Atlantic roots (grits, eastern NC BBQ shoulders, Brunswick stew, steamed crabs &amp; shrimp &amp; shellfish, hushpuppies, cornbread, greens, shad roe, scrapple) with Pacific Rim foods &amp; techniques aquired while living in Pacific Northwest, fish &amp; game recipes learned while living in Rocky Mountain region &amp; foods/techniques learned travelling to the Big Island &amp; up into BC &amp; Alberta &amp; into the Caribbean. The Middle Eastern/African likes I have are remnants of my parents who lived for many years in North Africa &amp; Mediterranean before I was thought of. Makes for wide open cooking! <br /> <br />Since moving back east we try to go annually in the deep winter to Montreal (Old Montreal auberges &amp; La Reine) &amp; Quebec City (Winter Carnival &amp; Chateau Frontenac)- for unctuous foie gras &amp; real cheeses, French &amp; Canadian meals prepared &amp; served exquisitely, fantastic music &amp; wonderful people - with the cold helping burn off some of the calories! <br /> <br />I love putting in our aluminum jonboat &amp; heading across the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to the barrier islands for foraging &amp; exploring! Bodysurfing is a lifelong sport for me - one that a person's body never seems to forget how to do, once the knack is learned (thank goodness!) <br /> <br />I especially miss cool summers &amp; foggy/drizzly days &amp; fall mushroom foraging/anytime of year hot springing in WA, OR, MT, ID, BC &amp; Alberta.</p>
 
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