Our grandmother Ivy was a firm believer in her waste-not, want-not approach to cooking, making something delicious from whatever was to hand. This deeply savoury bread and butter pudding brings together sweet caramelised onions, earthy kale and leftover bread to create a wonderfully comforting vegetarian centrepiece. One taste and you'll wonder why you haven't been making bread and butter pudding this way for years.
60g Ivy’s Reserve salted butter, divided
2 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
4 onions, finely sliced
50ml dry white wine or sherry
100g kale (cavolo nero or curly kale), leaves stripped from the tough stalk
4 eggs
200ml double cream
100ml whole milk
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 whole nutmeg, grated
150g Ivy’s Vintage Cheddar
250g stale baguette or bread, roughly torn
2 bay leaves
A few sprigs of thyme
50g hazelnuts, chopped
Salt and pepper
Add 20g of the butter and the oil to a large, shallow casserole dish (about 28cm), and when the butter is sizzling, tip in the onions and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over a medium high heat, stirring all the time for 8-10 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Turn the heat down and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes until they’re deeply caramelised.
Meanwhile, blanch or steam the kale until tender. Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and pour in the cream and milk. Add the mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Add all but a handful of the cheddar and mix to combine. Slice the baguette, if using.
Pour the wine into the pan with the onions and stir to deglaze, then scrape the onions onto a plate and set aside. Grease the pan with butter. Arrange the bread across the base of the pan in an even layer and dot with the remaining butter. Tuck the herbs amongst the bread, and do the same with the kale and onions. Pour the savoury custard over the top and top with the remaining cheddar and the hazelnuts. Cover and transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 90 minutes. This will help the bread to soak up the custard and cook without burning.
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Cover the bread and butter pudding with a lid or foil and cook for 25 minutes, before removing the lid and cooking for a further 15 minutes until deep golden and bubbling.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before lifting onto warm plates.
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Ivy’s Reserve was created by our grandmother, a pioneer cheesemaker, talented cook, countrywoman and nature-lover. A century later, her Cheddar and butter have won countless awards and are now enjoyed around the world.
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