03/25/2024
Croissant Bread Pudding with Creamed Spinach and Prosciutto
It's time to plan your Easter feast! While some holidays have prescriptive menus, Easter recipes run the gamut from breakfast favorites to dinner classics, savory to sweet, and everything in between. This easy brunch dish is a celebratory and beautiful dish. It is a decadently delicious take on bread pudding.
Bread Puddings are typically sweet which I love but I must admit I prefer a savory breakfast. There is so much great texture and buttery goodness from the croissants accented with bites of prosciutto and savory creamed spinach. The buttery croissants are guaranteed to make for a tender and delicious breakfast dish. You don't need to use award-winning croissants for this, but you do need to use croissants made with all butter. It makes a great holiday breakfast and the perfect dish for Easter brunch!
Ingredients:
¾-pound leeks, about 2 medium
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes,
divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
6 cups fresh spinach, lightly packed, rinsed and dried thoroughly, about 6-ounces
8 extra-large eggs, divided
5 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
6 medium plain butter croissants, about 12-ounces, halved horizontally like hamburger buns
6-ounces Comté or fontina cheese, shredded, about 1½-cups, divided
3-ounces prosciutto cotto, or another quality cooked ham, torn into long thin strips
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, about 2-ounces
Instructions:
1). Trim and discard the hairy ends and the tough dark green outer layers of the leeks. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise. Lay one half flat and, starting at the light end, slice the leeks ½-inch-thick on an extreme bias, stopping when the leeks become dark green. Discard the dark green ends and repeat, slicing the rest of the leeks in the same way. Wash and dry the leek slices thoroughly and separate the layers.
2). Heat 2 tablespoons of the softened butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat until it just melts. Add the leeks, season with ½ teaspoon of the salt, and sauté the leeks for about 5 minutes, until they're soft and translucent, stirring often so they don't brown. Lower the heat if the leeks begin to brown before they are soft. Add the spinach, season with ½ teaspoon of salt, and gently fold the spinach in with the leeks so it wilts and fits in the pan. Continue to cook the spinach, stirring often, until all the water releases from the spinach and the water has evaporated, about 5
minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a plate and set aside to cool to room temperature.
3). Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl to break up the yolks. Add the milk, 1 tablespoon of the thyme leaves, 1 tablespoon of the softened butter, and the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and whisk to combine the ingredients.
4). Lay the croissant bottoms, cut side up, in the bottom of a 9- by 13-inch casserole dish, trimming them as necessary to make them fit in a single layer like pieces of a puzzle. Pour 2 cups of the egg mixture over the surface of the croissants, pouring it over the entire surface, not dumping it in one place, and press gently on the croissants with your fingers to help them absorb the liquid. Sprinkle two-thirds of the Comté over the croissants and pour 2 cups of the remaining egg mixture over the cheese, pouring it over the entire surface. Lay the ham strips in an even layer and scatter the spinach and leeks over the ham, spreading them in an even layer. Lay the croissant tops, cut sides down, on top of the filling, again cutting them as needed so they fit in the dish. Pour the remaining egg mixture over the entire surface of the croissants.
5). Combine the remaining Comté and the Parmigiano in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the top of the croissants. Press down on the croissants to nestle them tightly in the dish and to push out any air bubbles. Scatter with 4 tablespoons of the butter pieces and sprinkle the remaining thyme leaves over the top of the bread pudding.
6). Put the bread pudding on a baking sheet and bake for 70 to 80 minutes, until the top is golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 165ºF, rotating the baking sheet from the front to back halfway through the cooking time so the bread pudding browns evenly. Remove the bread pudding from the oven and set it aside to rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Number of Servings: 10 - 12
