Fall recipes: Stilton and leek bread pudding

October 9, 9:20 AMBoston Sustainable Food ExaminerLeah Bloom

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This savory bread pudding is a rich, creamy delight that works well as a main course, or can be served in small portions alongside a mild soup or green salad.

Leeks have a more delicate flavor than their cousins, garlic, scallions, and onions.  Since their flavor doesn't need to be cooked down to lessen its intensity, they are ideal to add to fresh soups, sautes, and other quick-cooking dishes.  Best of all, they are grown all over Massachusetts.  Click here to find a farm or farmers market in your neighborhood that sells them.

Massachusetts is also home to a great many cheese-makers and cheese shops.  You can find excellent Stilton for this recipe at the South End Formaggio, or visit the MA Department of Agricultural Resources for a list of farmstead cheeses available around the state and choose another cheese for this dish.  In particular, Great Hill Dairy, in Marion, MA, is makes a wonderful blue cheese that pairs beautifully with leeks.  Gorgonzola and Roquefort would also pair well.

Stilton and Leek Bread Pudding

Ingredients

• Approximately 8 slices of bread, preferably robust and stale
• 2 leeks 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 7 oz Stilton or other strong or blue cheese
• 7 oz cheddar cheese
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• Salt and pepper

Cut the roots and dark green ends off of the leeks and clean them well under running water.  Be sure to flip through the layers of the leeks, as sand tends to get caught between them. Slice the leeks thinly and saute them in the oil until soft.  Set aside.

Spread the butter and mustard on one side of the slices of bread.  For a chunky bread pudding, coarsely chop the bread.  For a smoother, layered pudding, leave the bread whole, or if making single-serve puddings, cut to the size of your ramekins.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.  

For chunky pudding, put the bread bits into a large bowl and pour the egg mixture over them to soak in. Shred and/or crumble the cheeses, and when the bread is evenly moist, mix them and the leeks in into it, and spoon the mixture into a baking dish or ramekins.

For layered pudding, place one layer of bread in your baking dish or ramekins, followed by 1/3 of the shredded cheeses and leeks, and top with 1/3 of the egg mixture.  Repeat two more times or until your ingredients are gone, and let sit for 20 minutes so the eggs can soak through the layers.

Bake on a baking sheet at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until the top of the pudding is golden and the cheese is bubbly.