Savory Kale Bread Pudding

A couple of blocks from our house lives a neighbor who runs a catering business. Christie & I were out for an evening stroll last week and ran into the neighbor as she arrived home after an event. She greeted us with a baguette in her arms, asking us if we wanted one. We said sure and as we walked we ate a few bites off the top. The rest came home, went onto the counter and promptly went stale & hard.

Usually at this point the compost pile is involved, but this time I thought I'd try out an idea for savory bread pudding. It turned out fantastic and Christie asked me to jot down a recipe.

The custard for this is based directly on a recipe from the Fat Free Vegan blog site for Mini Crustless Tofu Quiches. This is a fantastic recipe we've made several variations of, mostly because we don't like mushrooms, so we always wing the ingredients to fit something we'd enjoy more. I'd wondered for some time if I could adapt the tofu custard for other purposes so it immediately came to mind as a way to make the bread pudding.
The Stuff

• 1 stale baguette, coarsely cut up
• 1 medium bunch of kale, washed, stemmed & shredded
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced small
• 1 medium carrot, diced small
• 1 stalk of celery, diced small
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  
  
• 2 12.3-ounce packages lite firm silken tofu, drained of water
• 1/2 cup plain soymilk
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• sweet paprika

The Making

Preheat oven to 375.

In a skillet heat the olive oil and saute onion until they begin to soften, add garlic and continue sauteing until the garlic and onion begin to caramelize. Add in celery and carrots and saute until they begin to soften. Add kale, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until kale is softened. Remove from heat. Put coarsely chopped up bread and sauteed vegetables into a large mixing bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients into a blender. Process until mixture is completely smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides to be sure everything is incorporated. Pour this mixture over the bread and vegetables. Mix all ingredients together, making sure bread is coated with custard.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with canola oil. Pour bread, custard and vegetable mixture into dish. Lightly press down so that the pan is evenly filled. Lightly dust top with sweet paprika.

Put pan into the oven and immediately reduce heat to 350. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before cutting and serving with a lovely salad.