Parmesan Bread Pudding with Broccoli Rabe and Pancetta

Happy Easter, fans and visitors of N.T.! Instead of traditional spring holiday meals, featuring a baked ham or leg of lamb, I kept it a bit lighter this year. This bread pudding features cubes of country bread, tossed with garlicky sauteed broccoli rabe and a Parmesan-flavored custard. And just so we didn’t leave the Easter ham out altogether, the whole thing is topped with a few paper-thin slices of pancetta, Italy’s version of bacon. The bread cubes were soft and chewy and moist on the inside, and crusty and brown on the outside, and the whole thing was salty, cheesy and just slightly porky. To go with, I steamed some asparagus, a classic spring vegetable with a grassy green flavor, and drizzled some shallot vinaigrette on top.

Parmesan Bread Pudding with Broccoli Rabe and Pancetta

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 medium bunch broccoli rabe (rapini), trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 pound country-style white bread, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
• 6 thin slices pancetta (Italian bacon)

The assembled pudding, before going into the oven

Method

• Preheat oven to 350°. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir until garlic is softened, about 30 seconds. Add broccoli rabe; sea-son with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until wilted, about 2 minutes; let cool slightly
• Meanwhile, whisk eggs, milk, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoons pepper in a large bowl to blend. Add broccoli rabe mixture, bread, and 1/2 cup Parmesan; toss to combine. Transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Top with pancetta and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan
• Bake pudding until puffed, browned in spots, and set in the center, 45-55 minutes

Mexican Baked Eggs

First of all, apologies for my month-long hiatus on posting. I’ve been sick, with a lingering cold that lasted 2 weeks, and I’ve also been really busy with work. Luckily, 1) I’m back to full health; and 2) 1World is now not only ready to take new members on the web, iPhone and Android, but we’re also on Facebook and we’re getting ready to spread the word at SXSW coming up next week.

Given that I’ve been so busy, dinner tonight needed to be something fast, easy and filling. Getting more new mileage out of an old common theme (baked eggs), I made this dish that draws on Mexican flavors–cumin, chipotle and cilantro–to spice up a basic tomato and black bean stew that acts as a poaching liquid for eggs. Served hot, with melted cheese, avocado slices and warm tortillas, it was a high-protein, relatively low-fat vegetarian meal that came together quickly and disappeared fast.

Mexican Baked Eggs

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes or 4 cups diced fresh tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used a blend of cheddar and jack)

Method

• Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat
• Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes
• Add the garlic, cumin, chipotle chili powder, and jalapeno saute until fragrant, about a minute
• Add the tomatoes, black beans, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes
• Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro
• Divide mixture into 3 ovenproof baking dishes and top with the eggs
• Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the eggs just start to set, about 8-10 minutes
• Top with the cheese and broil until melted, about 1 minute

Shakshuka (Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas and Feta)

I love poached eggs. If they’re made just right, so that they yolk isn’t hard-cooked yet, but isn’t too runny either, if it offers up that perfectly viscous golden lava-flow at the probe of a fork, a humble poached egg (sopped up with some bread, and maybe with a side of bacon) is hard to beat. But sometimes I get frustrated that the noble egg is so often limited to breakfast and brunch within the American culinary ethos, especially when short order cooks across the country routinely serve up dry, rubbery scrambled eggs and ridiculously over-stuffed omelets. And sure, deviled eggs make an occasional appearance at a cocktail party, but I’d like to see us take a lesson from the French (who I hear know a thing or two about food) and start putting more eggs on the lunch and dinner menu.

To that end, I decided recently to try out a version of shakshuka, a more interesting looking Israeli take on eggs in purgatory. Essentially, a thick sauce made from onion, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas and spices is simmered in a large skillet. Eggs are cracked into wells in this sauce that will now act as a poaching liquid and the whole dish is sprinkled with feta cheese before being popped into an oven just until the eggs set. Once the yolks are just the way you like them, remove the skillet, sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve with lots of bread to soak up this amazing, flavorful sauce.

Adapted from a recipe by Bon Appetit

Total Cooking Time: 35 min.

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 2 jalapeños, seeded, finely chopped
• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained
• 1 tsp. Hungarian sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. hot smoked paprika
• 1 T. harissa
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup coarsely crumbled feta
• 8 large eggs
• 1 T. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 T. chopped fresh cilantro
• Warm bread/lavash/pita for serving

Method

• Preheat oven to 425°. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeños; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add chickpeas, paprikas, harissa, and cumin and cook for 2 minutes longer.
  
• Add crushed tomatoes and their juices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle feta evenly over sauce.

• Crack eggs one at a time and place over sauce, spacing evenly apart. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until whites are just set but yolks are still runny, 5–8 minutes. Garnish with parsley and cilantro. Serve with bread/lavash/pita for dipping.