Savory Kale Pudding
Continuing my current love affair with kale, I followed another recipe Stacie of chowbaby.com recommended. I’m a bigger fan of savory rather than sweet and this pudding was just right up my alley. The bakery uptown didn’t have brioche in stock when I stopped by, so I picked up a loaf of challah instead. Before tearing them into smaller pieces, I just tried to remove as many of the poppy seeds as I could. I also topped it with grated Gruyere cheese when I realized I still had some leftover in the fridge.
The pudding cooked while I leisurely read The Sunday Times. It was such a low-maintenance pudding with a large yield. And even with the milk and cream, it tasted pretty healthy.
Ingredients:
1 bunch kale, leaves torn from stalks, washed thoroughly
half a loaf of challah bread, torn into smaller pieces
2 medium leeks, thoroughly washed, chopped
a sliver of Gruyere cheese, grated
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs of thyme
salt, pepper, oil1. Preheat oven to 450º. Toss kale leaves with a little olive oil. Spread out on baking sheets and roast for about 10 minutes. The kale will wilt and become slightly crispy. Transfer the kale to a bowl and set aside. Lower the oven temp to 400º.
2. In the meantime, sauté the garlic and leeks in butter until leeks are soft but not browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk and cream together with the thyme and the bread with some salt and pepper. Fold in the kale and the leek mixture.
4. Pour the pudding mixture into a rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish into a larger roasting pan filled halfway with water. Put the pans carefully into the oven. Cover the baking dish loosely with foil. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Carefully take the pans out of the oven. Continue baking the pudding for another 20 minutes without the pan filled with water. Check to see if the pudding is cooked by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If the toothpick comes out clean, your pudding is done. Remove from oven, let cool slightly and serve.
Related post/s:
A sweeter kind of pudding with caramel sauce
ChikaLicious Puddin’
Part of my Mother Hen project: omakase bento #7
how much is “a bunch” of kale? can you give an approximate weight, or something that we poor folks overseas can work with?
Good question. The bunch I buy in Harlem is pretty hefty and it’s almost 2 pounds. Once you tear the leaves from the stalks, the yield should be enough to fill a medium-sized colander. They all wilt as soon as you roast them.
Could you please be more specific as to the size of the rectangular dish used to bake the pudding and how many servings the recipe makes? Thanks!
Hi B.B.,
Apologies for the lack of dish measurement here because I don’t really know what I have at home off the top of my head. I checked online to see what stores have and I’m pretty sure I used a 9×13″ rectangular dish.
When and how does the challah get incorporated into this recipe?
Oh boy, B.B., that was a nice catch. The bread comes in when you make the pudding mixture, Step 3. That has since been edited. Thanks.