Recipe Provided by Market Producer: April McGregor, owner of Farmers’ Daughter Brand Products
View more recipes from April at http://www.grist.org/
Ingredients:
1 loaf of day old country or sourdough bread or 5 cups 1 ½†bread chunks
Filling
5 slices bacon, chopped OR 3 Tbsp olive oil
6 young spring onions, scallions, or small leeks, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 fresh eggs from pastured hens
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
A few gratings of fresh nutmeg
1/2 cup Gruyere, Fontina, or other melting cheese, grated
2 Tbsp Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Topping
1/4 cup grated Gruyere or other melting cheese
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Cut a circle out of the top a round loaf of sourdough or country bread. With your hands, hollow out the bread, leaving the sides and bottom of the crust intact. Cut or tear the bread into 1 ½-inch pieces. Measure 5 cups of the bread chunks and set aside. Reserve the leftovers for another purpose. If your bread is fresh, toast it in the oven for a few minutes to dry it out.
Butter the inside of the hollowed out bread bowl or a 2 1/2 quart baking dish.
If using the bacon, sauté it in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. Saute’ the spring onions in the bacon drippings (or olive oil) for 3-5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic, parsley, and thyme and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and set aside.
To make the custard, in a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cheese. Toss the bread with the custard. Then stir in the spring onion mixture and the reserved bacon. Fill the buttered bread mold with the bread custard filling. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese and place on a baking sheet to catch any overflows. If you have any leftover filling, you can butter a small ramekin and bake it separately.
Bake until the custard is no longer runny, about 45 minutes. If the top starts to get too dark before the custard is fully baked, cover with aluminum foil.