A few years ago I was inspired to make a savory bread pudding after a neighbor gave us a day-old baguette. Since last year’s quest for the perfect quiche base, I’ve wanted to revisit this comfort food favorite and make a few changes. We love the new result and I am happy to offer this new version for the So Delicious Spring Fling Dairy-Free Recipe Contest.

While the recipe calls for a full-size baguette, the equivalent amount of any stale bread will work great. The best versions combine a few dry heels of a different types of bread so you get a big variation in the taste and chewiness of the bread, which is awesome. The version pictured here used the ends of three different bakery loaves: Walnut Whole Wheat and Country Brown, both from Ken’s Artisan Bakery, plus a bit of White Sourdough, from Grand Central Bakery (bakeries noted for folks in or visiting Portland).

The Stuff

• 1 stale baguette, coarsely cut up
• 1 medium bunch of kale, washed, stemmed & shredded
• 2 small leeks, white parts only, sliced thin
• 1 large carrot, diced small
• 1 large 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 So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Plus 5X almond milk
• Leaves from 8 stems of parsley, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black salt* (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 T champagne vinegar
• sweet paprika to sprinkle over the top

*Black Salt, or Kala Namak is usually found at a Desi market or a good pan-Asian market that features ingredients popular in Indian and other South Asian cuisines. It is mostly sodium chloride, but it also contains sulfur in addition to the other minerals. It is pink or light purple in color and imparts a more subtle flavor cooked. It can be skipped, just add 1/4 t of sea salt, but it worth the effort to seek it out. If you don’t have any suitable markets in your area, Kala Namak Salt can be purchased online.

The Making

Preheat oven to 375.

In a skillet heat the olive oil on medium-high heat and saute garlic quickly, less than two minutes, until it begins to sizzle. Add in celery, carrots, and leeks. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to sauté until the veggies begin to soften. Add kale, cover and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until kale is softened. After 10 minutes drizzle champagne vinegar into the pan and cover for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl add coarsely chopped up bread, fresh parsley, and sautéed vegetables.

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 the tofu-custard.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with Canola oil. Pour bread, custard and vegetable mixture into dish. Lightly press down so that the pan is evenly filled. 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 five minutes before cutting and serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 171
Total Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 0g
Sodium: 241 mg (10%)
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 3 g
Protein: 11 g

** Update May 25, 2012 **

Wow! I’m blown away that this recipe won the Lunch/Dinner category for the So Much to Love Givaway from So Delicious Dairy Free! I’m being treated to a BIG shopping spree as my prize – there’s sure to be a blog post about my purchases later.

The last of my recipes for the So Much to Love Givaway from So Delicious Dairy Free this May! A This recipe is a soy and gluten-free take on a good comfort food.

Since the cheezy sauce for this dish is already soy and gluten-free, choosing a brown rice pasta just continues the theme. While I’m fortunate not have an intolerance or allergy to either soy or gluten, I like to have some recipes to rely upon to make for others. I also really enjoy brown rice pasta, so I use it in most of my pasta dishes.

The richness of the sauce comes from blending raw cashews that have soaked in hot water. I think of this as something of a special occasion dish, but when it is paired with a big pile of veggies it makes for just the kind of hearty, rich meal I want on a cold winter’s night. Sometimes I like to make a little extra of the tasty sauce and add a bunch of steamed broccoli in when the pasta gets mixed in and make a casserole.

The Stuff

• 1/2 c raw cashews soaked in 1/2 c hot water
• 1 c almond milk
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1/2 c fine flake nutritional yeast
• 1/2 t granulated garlic
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 1 t dried marjoram
• 1/8 t mustard powder (a nice pinch)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 8 oz brown rice pasta (elbows, penne, rigatoni, etc.)
• 1 t chickpea miso (soy free)

The Making

Start cashews soaking in the half cup of hot water in your blender jar. Cashews need to soak for at least 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit.

Bring water in a larger saucepan to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to the directions on the packaging. Once pasta has finished cooking, drain and rinse in cold water to stop it cooking. Retain 2 tablespoons of the pasta water in the saucepan.

In the blender jar add almond milk, miso, and spices. Begin blending on a medium speed until the cashews are incorporated with the almond milk and water in a smooth mixture. About 3-5 minutes depending upon the type of blender you have.

With the blender still processing, remove the center cap of the lid and add in the cornstarch. Once the cornstarch has incorporated add the nutritional yeast in a slow pour. Continue to process for at another minute longer.

Return saucepan and 2 tablespoons of pasta water to a medium heat. Pour in sauce from blender and stir. As the sauce heats it will begin to thicken, keep stirring at regular intervals to make sure it doesn’t stick. Once it reaches a thick consistency, about 2-3 minutes, pour back in the pasta and stir to cover. Let pasta sit in sauce on medium, for an addition 5 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally.

Pour pasta and sauce mix into a 8×8 baking dish that’s been lightly sprayed with Canola oil. Bake casserole for 5 minutes at 325. Then flip on low broil setting and broil for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and very lightly spray top of casserole with Canola oil. Return to low broil for another 4 minutes, tuning half-way through, until golden on top. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

You can skip the last step of baking/broiling if you’re in a hurry. Just be sure the pasta and sauce are thoroughly heated through in the saucepan before serving. It really takes about the same time and the sauce thickens up very nicely in the oven. I sometimes throw 3-4 cups of steamed broccoli in along with the pasta and serve it once the sauce thickens, after about 7-10 minutes.

Serves 4

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 429
Total Fat: 15 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Sodium: 75 mg
Carbohydrates: 63 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Sugars: 5 g
Protein: 19 g

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 9×13 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.

Update: March 17, 2013 – This recipe is now gluten-free, so long as GF rolled oats are used. It also can be made soy-free by choosing a miso made from another legume.

On the shockingly long list of vegan staples I’ve never tried making at home is the humble lentil loaf. Kind of a vegan stereotype of sorts, but one I’ve rarely encountered in person. I actually rather like the idea of a lentil loaf. Green lentils have a nice, earthy taste and I feel they pair well with walnuts & quinoa for a protein dense, rich loaf.

Great Vow has a nut loaf they make for special occasions, however, it is based around the use of eggs as a binder, so no luck in looking to that recipe for much inspiration. Online the recipes are hugely varied, to such a degree it is hard to find something that sounds right. After a lot of reading and recalling the meatloaf my Mom used to make, I came up with a very tasty dish.

It crumbles a little coming out of the pan, but not too much. Slices pretty well and we found it very satisfying, particularly when served alongside the very last of the amazing mashed potatoes Christie made for Thanksgiving. I’m going to be working on an entirely gluten-free version of this dish next.

The Stuff (for loaf)

• 1 small onion
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 cups cooked, green lentils (overcooked is better, should be mushy/mashed)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (gluten-free)
• 2 tablespoon red miso (**possible to substitute chickpea or lima miso to make soy-free)
• 1/3c flax meal whisked together with 1/3 c water
• 3 T tomato paste (taken from a 6oz can)
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 t sweet paprika
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1/2 t dried marjoram
• 2 T fresh parsley

The Making (the loaf)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk together the flaxseed meal and water in a large bowl, set aside. Dice onion and celery small, and mince the garlic cloves. Sauté the onion, garlic and celery until onion begins to caramelize. Add sauteed vegetables and remaining ingredients into large bowl with flax/water mixture and mix well. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and fill the loaf pan with the mixture. Press down and top with tangy tomato sauce.

The Stuff (the sauce)

• remainder of tomato paste from 6oz can
• 2 T apple cider vinegar
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 t sweet paprika
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/4 t or less ground clove
• 1 T  water

The Making (the sauce & the loaf)

Whisk together all ingredients for sauce and spread on top of loaf before baking. Cover loaf pan with foil, it is alright that the sauce will smear a bit.

Bake loaf 30 minutes covered, remove foil. Bake 10 minutes uncovered. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting and serving.