Spinach And Tasso Bread Pudding With Gruyere Cheese

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 1 loaf of good french bread (16 ounce)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
• 6 -10 cloves garlic, minced (however much you like)
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry with squeezings reserved
• 8 ounces tasso, diced (or substitute regular smoked ham, andouille sausage or any good smoked sausage)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup medium-dry wine (don't use chardonnay)
• 12 ounces gruyere cheese, grated (substitute a good swiss or monterey jack)
• 12 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 3 -5 dashes worcestershire sauce
• 3 -5 dashes hot sauce
• creole seasoning (tony chacheries)

Recipe

• 1 slice the bread into 1/2" slices and let dry out overnight.
• 2 you may also dry them in a 200-225°f oven for about 30-40 minutes until they're completely dried; make sure you don't brown them.
• 3 heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy skillet (don't use non-stick).
• 4 add the diced tasso.
• 5 brown the tasso for 5 minutes until some of the fat has been rendered out and you've got some nice brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
• 6 remove from pan, drain on papertowels and set aside.
• 7 add the wine to the pan, making sure to scrape up all the browned bits.
• 8 reduce the wine by half.
• 9 pour out into a large bowl and set aside.
• 10 in the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter with the rest of the olive oil.
• 11 add the onions and garlic.
• 12 sauté for about 3 minutes, until onions are translucent.
• 13 add the spinach water and let it reduce.
• 14 add the chopped spinach.
• 15 continue to cook for 3 minutes, making sure that there's hardly any moisture left.
• 16 transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• 17 whisk the eggs in a large bowl.
• 18 add the half-and-half.
• 19 add the molasses, worcestershire, hot sauce, the reduced wine, about 2 teaspoons of salt, plenty of fresh ground black pepper and creole seasoning to taste.
• 20 butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish.
• 21 make one layer of dried bread slices on the bottom.
• 22 use little broken-off pieces if you need to fill any little spaces.
• 23 cover the bread evenly with the spinach mixture.
• 24 sprinkle evenly with 1/3 of the grated cheese.
• 25 spread the diced tasso evenly over the cheese.
• 26 season with more creole seasoning and pepper.
• 27 sprinkle with more cheese.
• 28 add a second layer of bread,filling the holes with broken pieces as needed.
• 29 give the custard a final mix with the whisk and pour evenly over the entire surface of the bread, making sure you wet everything.
• 30 season the top with more black pepper and creole seasoning, the remaining cheese and a sprinkling of salt.
• 31 wrap the pudding in plastic wrap.
• 32 weigh the top down with a couple of boxes of brown sugar, a bag or rice or whatever you have available.
• 33 this helps compress the layers of the pudding so that the custard will soak all the way through allowing it to cook more evenly.
• 34 refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• 35 when ready to cook,take the pudding out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
• 36 bake in a preheated oven at 325-350°f for about one hour, until the edges and center are puffy.
• 37 let the pudding cool for about 5 minutes.
• 38 slice and serve.