By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 1 hour 45 minutes, plus 1 hour's refrigeration
- Rating
- 4(250)
- Notes
- Read community notes
For this comforting gratin, broccoli is briefly steamed and seasoned with garlic and thyme before being tossed with the bread, eggs, goat cheese and milk. You can include tomatoes if you can still find good ones.
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Ingredients
Yield:Serves 6
- 5 to 6ounces stale baguette or whole wheat country bread, crusts removed, cut into ¾-inch slices if it isn’t too hard to cut (see note)
- 1½cups milk (low-fat or regular)
- 2large garlic cloves, 1 cut in half, 1 minced
- ½pound broccoli crowns
- 1tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2teaspoons fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 4ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
- 4large eggs
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1pound ripe, firm tomatoes, sliced (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
286 calories; 15 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 16 grams protein; 625 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Rub the bread slices, front and back, with the cut clove of garlic. Cut into cubes. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 cup of the milk and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients. Note: If the bread is too hard to cut safely, place the whole chunk in a bowl with 1 cup of the milk. Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer, turning the bread in the milk every once in a while. Remove the bowl with the soaked bread from the refrigerator. Break up the bread with your hands. Using a wooden spoon, a whisk or an immersion blender, mash or beat the soaked bread so that the mixture turns into a mush.
Step
2
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and goat cheese. Beat in the milk. Add salt to taste (about ½ teaspoon), a few twists of pepper and the bread, along with any milk remaining in the bowl in which you soaked the bread. Stir well to combine. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.
Step
3
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the sides of a 2-quart baking dish or gratin with the cut side of a garlic clove. Oil or butter the dish. Mince any remaining garlic from the halves you used to rub the bread and the dish. Break up the broccoli crowns into florets and steam for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and cut the florets into ½-inch slices, or chop coarsely.
Step
4
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add the minced garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, and stir in 1 teaspoon of the thyme, the broccoli, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir together for a minute, until the broccoli is nicely seasoned, and remove from the heat. Stir into the bread mixture.
Step
5
Scrape the bread mixture into the baking dish. If including tomatoes, scrape in half the bread mixture and layer half the tomatoes on top. Spread the remaining bread mixture over the tomatoes and top with the remaining tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the remaining thyme and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake 50 minutes, until puffed, set and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and serve hot or warm.
Tip
- Advance preparation: Bread puddings can be assembled hours before baking. They can also be baked ahead and reheated, but they will lose the puff.
Ratings
4
out of 5
250
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Cooking Notes
Meri
This turned out so light and fluffy, it was almost a souffle. I used goat cheese with garlic and herbs for extra flavor. For the optional tomato, I used grape tomatoes, halved.
KatrinaG
I liked the concept of this dish but was a little disappointed in the results. The step of sauteing the broccoli (I also added some very fresh asparagus) after it had been steamed I think was unnecessary, as the veggies were a bit mushy by the time the dish was complete. Hard to discern the goat cheese. I also used more bread (about 9 oz total) than called for. But I would make it again, altering step 4 to cooking just the garlic and herbs by themselves briefly.
Christina
I used feta instead of goat cheese, would double it next time. Would also add an extra egg to set it better. It was a little bland, might add grated Romano to the mix next time. I usually don't like cooked tomatoes but the ones on top were AMAZING. Don't forego them!
Kevin Osinski
I used 6 oz of country bread and found the custard way too thin, so I quickly oven-dried another 3 oz and added it. That seemed like a reasonable amount. Tomatoes are a nice addition, but for best presentation should be peeled.
Jane F
I love this recipe. I don't always have goat cheese but I find that a nice aged cheddar or gruyere is wonderful in it. Very special!
Allison
Delicious and simple - but be sure to add plenty of salt, since it was somewhat under seasoned. I threw in extra broccoli and some leftover asparagus & baked in a larger 13x9
Umami City
I added a shallot, 4 cloves of garlic and 4oz of sliced mushrooms in the sautee phase and also added pecorino to the bread mixture and the top before baking. It was really tasty!
Plays in Peoria
This recipe is flexible and oh so good. Subbed out mushrooms sautéed with shallots for the broccoli and garlic — as well as cojita for goat cheese. Lovely.
Eve
I was worried about the tomatoes adding too much liquid, but when I saw how dry the bread/milk mixture was, I included them. Separately, I caramelized three large onions and served the caramelized onions on the side. Next time, I think I will layer them in.
Annie
This is good but would be great with the broccoli increased by at least half again, more garlic, and more goat cheese.
cjn
I streamlined the recipe a bit - roasted the broccoli with olive oil, S&P, garlic at the same time as drying out my bread (350 degrees for ~20 min), and didn't wait the 30 min before baking. Used herbed goat cheese. Delicious!!! And easy. Yum!
Cyn
Made this with leftover stuffing (9 oz) from the Christmas turkey. We thought it was delicious.
Kumar
A really yummy and versatile recipe! Following the advice of other reviews, we skipped steaming the broccoli and made sure to generously season with salt and pepper along the way. We also added some parmesan on top of both layers of tomatoes. I'm excited to play around with this recipe using different cheeses and vegetables!
cheeky
I use pain levain for this and cube the bread, leaving the crust (the best part!). I just sauté the broccoli, skipping the steaming, to keep the broccoli from turning to mush.
Sally
I simplified this by microwave-steaming the broccoli (no saute). I used seasoned, marinated goat cheese, 3 eggs, 2 C. of milk, 1 C. heavy cream, and slightly more bread (4 C cubes) and broccoli than called for. The tomatoes on top (romas) were the best part, with more thyme and black pepper, drizzled with garlic olive oil before baking. Worth doing again, not with the goat cheese, which got lost, but gouda, strong feta, gruyere or even cheddar. Chopped ham or sausage would be tasty, too.
ljeanne
This was great! I did substitute the broccoli with baby broccoli sauteed with the garlic and the thyme, added shallot and Hatch chile peppers, along with a splash of vegetarian oyster sauce, and chopped the mixture after it cooled. Also left the cubes of bread as they were after soaking without any additional mashing, but otherwise followed the recipe as printed. If you think of it as a jumping off point to add seasonings you like, it's a good template!
Jill
Can this be frozen.
AJ
This was...not very clear. Do you mush up just the super hard bread & leave the less hard bread cubed (I landed somewhere in between)? Do you beat the egg & cheese till mixed, or until completely blended (I contemplated while mixing with a fork & then pulled out the hand blender)? How much dried thyme with the broccoli (I did all of it)? Salt and pepper the tomatoes both layers or just the top? I skipped steaming the broccoli, chopped it and sauteed with the garlic. Delicious.
Amelia
I was unfortunately not very impressed with the flavor or texture in this (and I love bread puddings). I doubled the garlic, salt, and cheese, added an onion, tossed in additional spices, included the tomato, and still found this to be pretty bland. I also found it needed about twice as much cooking time as listed to not be mushy and wet. Given all the amendments needed to make this tasty, I think the recipe itself may just need some more work.
Allison
Delicious and simple - but be sure to add plenty of salt, since it was somewhat under seasoned. I threw in extra broccoli and some leftover asparagus & baked in a larger 13x9
Karen
Found the recipe a little bland. Should have read the comments of other cooks. Next time will use feta and increase the amount of bread.
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