By Susan Spungen
- Total Time
- About 1 hour, plus overnight soaking
- Rating
- 4(2,585)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Wonderful served as a brunch centerpiece or as a holiday side, this rich meatless casserole can be assembled in advance, refrigerated overnight, then baked just before serving. You could certainly prepare it day-of and let the bread soak for 15 minutes before baking, but allowing it to sit overnight will make it more tender. Delicate brioche is the ideal bread for this pudding, and it is available in most supermarkets, often in the form of hamburger rolls, which are a good size and shape for this dish. Challah is also a good option, but it’s a bit denser, so it may take more than 15 minutes for it to soak up the custard.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 1ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
- ½pound mixed fresh mushrooms, such as cremini or shiitake, trimmed and sliced ¼-inch thick
- 8fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish, if desired
- 2small shallots, halved and thinly sliced
- 2tablespoons cognac (optional)
- 2teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Black pepper
- 3large leeks, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced and well washed
- 6large eggs
- 1½cups heavy cream
- 1½cups whole milk
- ¼teaspoon ground cayenne
- 2ounces grated Gruyère (about 1 cup)
- 12ounces brioche (or 4 to 6 large brioche buns), cut into ½-inch thick slices
- 1ounce finely grated Parmesan (about ½ cup)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
563 calories; 36 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 675 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
Boil 1 cup of water in a small saucepan. Add the dried porcini mushrooms and soak until softened, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a cutting board and finely chop; set aside. Carefully pour remaining mushroom liquid into a large bowl, leaving any grit behind.
Step
2
In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter over high. Add fresh mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 8 minutes. Lower heat to medium. Add sage, shallots and chopped porcini, and cook, stirring, until shallot is translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cognac, if using, season to taste with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate.
Step
3
In the same pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and a big pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until wilted, 5 to 7 minutes. Return the mushroom mixture to the pan and stir to combine with the leeks. Remove from heat.
Step
4
Add eggs to the large bowl with the mushroom liquid, and whisk to blend. Add cream, milk, cayenne, 1½ teaspoons salt and plenty of black pepper. Whisk thoroughly to combine, then add the Gruyère.
Step
5
Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter, then add about ¼ of the fresh mushroom mixture and arrange in an even layer. Arrange the bread slices on top in an overlapping pattern. Sprinkle the remaining mushroom mixture over top, tucking it in between the bread slices. Ladle the custard mixture over top, evenly distributing the cheese. Refrigerate, covered, overnight (see Tip).
Step
6
When ready to cook, remove the dish from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Top the pudding with Parmesan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until set in the center (it may puff a bit). Run it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes to brown the top, watching carefully. Let sit 10 minutes, then serve warm, topped with additional sage if desired.
Tip
- If you don't have time to soak overnight, let sit for at least 15 minutes, pressing down on the bread from time to time to encourage absorption. Before baking, tear into a piece of bread to make sure the custard has fully permeated it — the bread shouldn’t look dry at the center — and let sit another 15 minutes, if needed, to allow the custard to fully soak in. Decrease the cooking time by 10 to 15 minutes.
Ratings
4
out of 5
2,585
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Cooking Notes
LynnG
I've made this for at least 50 years. It is the breakfast of choice by the family on holidays. I've made this using (with mushrooms) ham, sausage, bacon, many different kinds of cheese, onions instead of leeks or no onions, brioche, sour dough bread, added broccoli, spinach... in other words this is a great recipe to mess around with. Keeping the bread, milk, egg ratio: it's even good with sugar and peaches.
MJM
'Ramp up the leeks' HA! I see what you did there.
Pat Haley
Can you use all milk in this recipe, instead of the heavy cream?
katy lesser
this has every delectable ingredient ever invented, so how could it be anything but amazing? it IS! i think the more leeks the better, so next time i will ramp up the leeks.
Pamela Evans
I followed this recipe exactly, and would not change a thing. Trader Joe's brioche rolls from France were perfect for this. The leek flavor was superb, and although I generally overdo it on the cheese and mushroom fronts, I found the amounts as written to be perfect. Am taking it to a Thanksgiving attended by several vegetarians.
AR2
What would happen if you omitted the heavy cream altogether but kept the milk as is?
LaurieJ
Can you prepare and freeze and then bake?How would I change the recipe if I’m going to freeze it before baking it or would I bake it and then freeze it and then simply warm up at serving time?
Susan Spungen
sorry about that! NYT Cooking starts the clock after ingredients are prepped, hence the time difference- I'm glad it was worth it!
anna
Astonishingly delicious! Made as written except using Hawaiian bread rolls. Family raved and clamored for 2nds. Noted that it took about 2.5 hours with all of the chopping/sauteing - NOT the 1 hour listed with the recipe. Would bump up the leeks and mushroom content next go. Will make for this Thanksgiving and Christmas. Winning and forgiving recipe!
Susan Spungen
Agreed- If you want to add sage as a garnish, fry in oil first until crisp and bright green. That is how recipe should have read.
joan
I would cook your meat first, so you can drain off the fat. This dish is rich enough without adding that extra fat to it.
Caroline
I made this with gluten-free bread (Canyon Bakehouse Country White). It was great, enjoyed by all!
So good, and Freezable!
Made this and it was a big hit straight out of the pan. Then froze half of it (cut into squares, wrapped in plastic wrap and then put into a freezer glad bag) to use as “stuffing” a few weeks later with baked ham Christmas dinner. Let it thaw for several hours, reheated it in large saucepan with some added chicken stock until the stock was absorbed and the bread crisped up a bit. Delicious both ways!
Elaine
I will use more mushrooms, maybe double and more gruyere
Cooking in NYC
Made recipe as a side for this Thanksgiving. Delicious. Unanimous praise. Followed recipe as written with only change being I doubled the fresh mushrooms (combo of baby Bella, oyster, shiitake) and dried porcini -- 'cuz -- why not? I LOVE mushrooms. Used 1-day-old-sale brioche loaf from Fairway! Assembled night before as recommended. Forgot to broil. No loss. As a side, this recipe easily serves 12. Excellent reheated. Maybe cut recipe in half and serve as a main with a Boston lettuce salad
Carl Grunfeld
I made this first a few years ago and now my family begs it for every big family dinner. Great with shitake or any similar mushroom. The only thing I change is I double the gruyere. Carl Grunfeld
Peggy D
Excellent, rich, full of umami and beautiful presentation. (I did double the amount of mushrooms as suggested in previous posts.)
Mama Lisa
I made this recipe for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it. I replaced the leeks with onions only because I didn’t have any on hand and used only portobellos. As others mentioned, this recipe is very adaptable. I will be adding this to my holiday repetoire.I gave it 5 stars.
deborah
Very good with challah. Skipped the porcini, used cremini and shiitake, fontina and Parmesan. Guests raved.
Name Jayne
Excellent, just as written. Moist, savory, flavorful. I used it as an excuse to try making brioche, which turned out well, but I suspect the sourdough I usually make would also work well, especially with the addition of a bit more cream and/or butter.
Jessie
Cut cream and milk to 1 c each. Fabulous with a handful of shiitakes and 3 giant king oyster mushrooms. We have some Hatch red chile salt so used 1/2 tsp of that, along with the cayenne and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Such rich flavors. Love this dish.
Dan
Really really good, not difficult either. Made exactly as written. Only thing to note is it needs longer to bake than written. I had it in the oven probably 1 and 15 minutes, with the oven turned up for the last 30 minutes, and it still wasn't quite set. I would advise leaving out of the fridge about 1 hour before baking, then 1-1.5 hours at 350.
mary mancera
This. Is. Amazing. All the ingredients together mesh into perfect bites. I have served this as a vegetarian main brunch course and plan to add sausage and use as a stuffing. I’ve used brioche and crescents as the bread and both breads work. I will make this dish again and again.
SP
I made this last year and it was a hit! This year, I’m going to someone else’s house and there will be limited oven space. Can I cook this at home and serve about 3 hours later? I can prob get oven use for less than 30 to reheat if necessary. Thoughts?
farleyface
Has anyone tried making this in a muffin tin? Would it still maintain its consistency?
SquirrelGirl
Should the brioche rolls be stale? They’re very soft to begin with.
Marianne Twyman
This is a fantastic recipe but the one hour is a total hoot. I read that NYT times recipes after all the prep is done? Who ever thought that was the way to go must have servants! Chop, chop, slice, slice.
Daniel Bradford
This recipe works very well. As many other readers suggested I doubled the amount of mushrooms to one lb., and used about a cup and a half of thinly sliced leeks along with 2/3 a cup of finely minced scallions. Gruyere and parmesan are a definite must as is the cognac when deglazing the mushroom mixture. Letting the mixture refrigerate overnight definitely aids in the bread pudding turning out better.
Nuray T
This made a huge bread pudding. Next time will try ½ recipe with sturdier bread. Brioche rolls melted into the custard so it was much more custard than I preferred.
BrendaH
Great recipe but it does take longer than stated to make because of all the slicing. I recommend doubling the amount of fresh mushrooms. Soaking overnight really improves the texture.
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