Monday, March 23, 2009

Fun with leftovers: Pizza bread pudding


This is the story of how I turned triangles into squares. 
It came to me in a dream (some people dream in vivid colour, I dream in food.) I was helping take care of the wee nephew and nieces at the cottage during March Break, and we had enjoyed a very successful "make your own pizza night" the previous eve. There was just one snag: The fresh dough made for a crust that was beyond thick, seemingly rising to the moon as it baked. So there were leftovers. Many leftovers. This troubled me. And then I went to sleep.
And that's when it came to me: Pizza Bread Pudding! The kids seemed indifferent to my grand scheme at first. Suspicious, even. Except for Emily: "I like pizza and I like bread pudding. So, yum," she surmised. That's all I needed to hear. I set to work and came up with this easy recipe.
PIZZA BREAD PUDDING
(serves 6-8)
Ingredients:
5-6 slices leftover puffy pizza slices, cut into small cubes
2 cups milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg 
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup tomato sauce, warmed (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
Oil an 8x8 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, combine cubed pizza, milk, olive oil, eggs, and Parmesan (reserving 1 Tbsp for sprinkling on top). Stir well so that mixture is thick and very moist. It's okay if there's some excess milk pooling at the bottom, it'll get baked in. Pour into greased baking dish, sprinkle with a Tbsp of Parmesan, and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until nicely browned on top. Let cool slightly then slice into squares. Top with warm spaghetti sauce if you like.  

1 comment:

www.natureshealinggifts.com said...

Fabulous - thank you! I have been throwing away left over pizza for years, always attempting to dream up a recipe for those delicious, cheesey slices, or the white pizza with spinach, tomatoes, garlic & olive oil - now I can make use of it all! Thank you so much! Olivia @ www.natureshealinggifts.com