Christmas Eve tends to be a late night: Candlelight services, dinner with family, elfing into the wee hours. When you wake up Christmas morning, the last thing on your mind should be what to feed a house full of ravenous family.
Keep your people satiated, and keep your sanity, with a little advance planning. Make something a day (or two) ahead that can be cooked off after copious amounts of coffee on Christmas day. A savory breakfast bread pudding with sausage and Swiss chard – similar to strata but more rustic – is a cheesy, rich indulgence that’s just what the doctor ordered.
While it’s baking away in the oven, set out a make-your-own granola parfait bar with all the fixings: Bowls of gluten-free granola, yogurt, coconut chips, sliced almonds and fruit. Virtuous eaters will be appeased and the granola makes a crunchy out-of-hand snack all day long. And to wash it all down, why not a pomegranate mimosa? After all the gift opening and a big breakfast, you’ll be ready for that long winter’s nap.
Savory Breakfast Bread Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion cut in half and thinly sliced in half moons (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 leek halved lengthwise and cleaned well, then chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1 pound fresh mild Italian sausage casings removed and crumbled (about 3 links)
- 2 cups arugula, spinach, Swiss chard or kale (if using the last two, remove center stem and chop well)
- 2 cups milk (can be skim, low-fat or whole)
- 8 large eggs
- 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
- 1/2 pound brioche, challah or French bread about 5 cups, cubed into 2-inch pieces (I prefer the rustic texture of leaving the crust on the bread, but feel free to remove)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and butter a deep 9x13-inch baking dish. A glass Pyrex 9x13 might be too small, but if that’s all you have you can bake leftover filling in a small oven proof dish.
- Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and leeks and sauté until soft and slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and stir. Immediately add sausage to pan and sauté until cooked through and no longer pink, about 5-10 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat if necessary.
- Add greens to the sausage mixture, turn the heat to low and stir to wilt and soften the greens. Cover the pan with a lid, if you have one, to speed up the wilting process. Remove pan from heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs. Stir in the Gruyere, cubed bread and seasonings. Add cooled sausage mixture to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake uncovered for about 50 minutes, or until the top is golden, and a knife inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. (After 30 minutes, if the top is brown, cover the casserole with foil and continue to bake until the center is cooked.)
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