"I hate throwing my own stale bread away, by the bye, because I detest making loaves." (from "Country Kitchen", Australian Gourmet, Richard Beckett) Around the world, recipes abound for leftover bread. Like Richard Beckett said, it's one thing to make bread because you want to, another thing altogether because you have to; once you have experienced the nurturing of a fragile sourdough culture, and the sweaty, dirty job of baking in adobe, you will not want one crumb to go astray. So waste not want not, and all that, but you will also find that the following dishes are wonderful, almost the raison d'etre for stale bread, rather than the other way around.
MARCELLA HAZAN'S SPAGHETTI WITH CRUMBS AND OLIVES According to Giuliano Bugialli, "pasta sauced with breadcrumbs or mollica is probably as old and as fundamental a combination as pasta with garlic". The dry breadcrumbs for this dish must not be packaged. What you are after is pangrattato, ie. grated bread. To do this you let the bread get quite stale and hard, and then grate it on the fine holes of your grater. I used to hate this job as a child, but it is hardly a wonder that crumbed foods haven't tasted as good since we discovered breadcrumbs in boxes. Ingredients: 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving 3 garlic cloves, peeled 6 anchovies, chopped to a pulp 30g. fine dry breadcrubs (pangrattato), toasted 18 black Greek olives (not purple Kalamata), stoned and chopped to a pulp 450g. spaghetti Method: 1. Put the oil and garlic in a small saucepan and turn heat to medium high. Cook the garlic, stirring occasionally, until it becomes a very light brown. Discard garlic, and turn heat down to low. 2. Add the chopped anchovies, and cook, stirring constantly, until the anchovies dissolve. Turn heat up to medium, and add breadcrumbs. Cook for 4-5 min., stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat and add olives. 3. Cook spaghetti until al dente. Drain, and immediately toss with the breadcrumb mixture. Toss through a trickle of raw extra virgin olive oil, and serve immediately. PISAREI Pisarei are usually cooked in pisarei e faso, a minestrone-like stew that combines them with borlotti beans, pancetta, aromatic vegetables, and tomatoes. They look like gnocchi, but are firmer. Like gnocchi, they are a lot of fun to make, particularly if you rope in a helper or two. Ingredients: 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs (pangrattato) 3 1/2 cups unbleached flour pinch of salt 1/2 cup lukewarm water Method: 1. Place crumbs in a small bowl and cover with lukewarm water; allow to soak for 15 min. Drain very well, discarding the water. 2. Place flour in the bowl of the food processor with the salt. Wizz for a few seconds to combine. With the motor running, add crumbs and water, and wizz until mixture forms a ball. Remove from food processor, and knead until very elastic. 3. Cut dough into several pieces, and roll each into a rope about 1cm thick. Cut into 1cm pieces. 4. With your thumb, press and push each piece of dough on the bench away from you. They will curl up into little shells. Place on a floured teatowel until ready to cook. 5. Cook in plenty of salted water at a rolling boil for 1-3 min. PANZANELLA This salad recipe, along with the two that follow, come from the same family, probably the same one that spawned pan bagna in Nice. Solid, chewy bread is of utmost importance for these dishes, as is the best olive oil. Ingredients: 500g. stale Tuscan-style bread, sliced water extra virgin olive oil a handful of fresh basil leaves salt and pepper to taste 3 very ripe tomatoes, sliced 2 large sweet onions, finely sliced 1 cucumber, finely sliced 1 hardboiled egg, sliced 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar Method: 1. Moisten the bread with water and allow to soften. Squeeze the bread of excess water, being careful not to break it. 2. Place bread in a serving dish, and season well with extra virgin oilive oil, torn basil, and and pepper. Layer over the tomatoes, onions, cucumber and egg, and chill for 2 hours. Before serving, sprinkle with vinegar, and an additional trickle of extra virgin olive oil. CAPPONATA Ingredients: 200g. rusk (homemade zweiback - see the Long and Slow page on this blog) or very hard stale bread 1 clove garlic water red wine vinegar 50g. dried tuna, sliced, or bottarga 8 salt-sured anchovies, torn 300g. tinned tuna in olive oil, drained 4 very ripe tomatoes, sliced 1 tbsp. capers 20 small black olives extra virgin olive oil oregano salt and pepper to taste 4 hardboiled eggs, cut into quarters Method: 1. Rub rusk with the peeled garlic clove and moisten with water and vinegar. Allow to soften, then squeeze out excess moisture being careful not to bread bread. 2. Place bread in a serving dish and layer over the dried tuna or bottarga, the anchovies, the tinned tuna, the tomatoes, the capers and the olives. Trickle over extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Arrange hardboiled eggs on top and serve. ACQUASALA Ingredients: 800g. pasta dura bread, stale 150g. sweet red onion, chopped salt to taste 2 tsp. oregano 300ml. extra virgin olive oil water Method: 1. Slice the bread and place on a serving dish. Sprinkle with salt and oregano, and arrange over the onion. Pour over the oil and enough water to soften the bread. BRUSCHETTA (FETTUNTA) WITH TOMATOES AND BASIL Like pesto, bruschetta is one of those things that has been tarted up beyond recognition outside of Italy. The principle is simple: good bread, crisped and garlicky, with the simplest of toppings. Getting perfect tomatoes for the topping is a formidable enough task, without having to resort to constructing architectural structures more at home in smorrebroed. The main difference between bruschetta/fettunta and the above recipes is immediacy in eating. Bruschetta is about crispness, about the bread's own flavour; panzanella, capponata and acquasala are about bread's ability to absorb flavour. Ingredients: 6 slices firm country-style bread 3-4 garlic cloves, crushed 4 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely diced 6 basil leaves, torn salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Method: 1. Grill bread on a charcoal grill until golden on both sides. Rub with the crushed garlic on one side. (This is the basic bruschetta and you may now anoint it with oil and eat it as is.) 2. Over the garlic, spread over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with basil, salt, and freshly-ground pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and serve immediately. VARIATIONS: Other good additions to bruschetta are oregano, anchovies, capers, etc. Just remember the point to bruschetta is its simplicity and immediacy. PA Y AL This is a Catalan dish, much like bruschetta. My dear friend Jeannette's family was originally from Andorra, and her father was a garlic addict: he deemed the pa y al was perfect only when tears were running down his face! Ingredients: Slices of firm, country-style bread whole garlic cloves, peeled extra-virgin olive oil (opt.) Method: 1. Grill bread on a charcoal grill until golden on both sides. Holding garlic cloves like a pencil, rub over bread. You can give the bread a few rubs, or rub until you have no garlic left in your fingers, it's up to you. Serve immediately, with a drizzle of oil if desired. GAZPACHO Ingredients: 2 slices white bread, crusts removed 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 sweet red onion 4 cups tomato juice 4 ripe, firm tomatoes, peeled and seeded, and finely diced 1 cucumber, peeled and finely diced 1 green pepper, finely diced 1 red pepper, finely diced 4 spring onions, finely chopped 1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped Salt and pepper to taste Method: 1. Place bread, vinegar, oil, garlic and onion in food processor, and wizz until pureed. Add some of the tomato juice if it is too thick to process. 2. Transfer bread mixture to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Season generously, and mix well. Chill thoroughly before serving with extra oil and vinegar for trickling in to taste. GAZPACHO BLANCO This strangest-sounding of combinations makes the most superb soup. For lovers of garlic only! Ingredients: 20 blanched almonds 3 cloves garlic, chopped salt to taste 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar 2 cups water 50g. fresh breadcrumbs 200g. white grapes, peeled (I use sultana grapes so I don't have to worry about pipping them) ice cubes, to serve Method: 1. Place almonds, garlic, and salt in food processor, and wizz until pulverized. With the motor running, trickle in the oil. Finally, add the vinegar. 2. Place mixture in a soup tureen. Add water, crumbs, and grapes. Chill thoroughly before serving with an ice cube floating in each bowl. GLAMORGAN SAUSAGES Ingredients: 150g. grated sharp Cheddar cheese 120g. fresh bread, trimmed of crusts 2 spring onions 2 tbsp. parsley sprigs 1/2 tsp. thyme 1 tsp. powdered mustard salt and pepper (you will need about 1 tsp. salt) 1 large egg egg wash (opt.) dry breadcrumbs (opt.) oil for frying (opt.) Method: 1. Place the bread, spring onions, and parsley in the food processor and wizz until crumbled. Add cheese, mustard and thyme, and wizz again. Mix in the egg and seasoning by hand, until mixture begins to cohere. If it is too dry, add a little water or extra egg. If too wet, add a little more bread. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Shape into sausage shapes with your hands. 2. Pass the sausages through egg wash, then breadcrumbs, and fry in hot oil. Or omit the egg wash and bread crumbs: brush with oil and grill for a few minutes each side, until golden, or cook on a greased griddle or heavy-based frying pan. Serve like ordinary sausages, in a roll with all the trimmings, or with vegies and mash. RICHARD BECKETT'S BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING Dear Richard's version is a nice wobbly one, made for spooning out of the dish, not cutting into slices. Ingredients: 6 very thick slices bread butter seven large eggs, beaten 8 cups milk 1 cup vanilla sugar cinnamon, to taste a pinch of blade mace currants and sultanas, to taste nutmeg Method: 1. Generously butter the bread, and cut slices in half. Beat together eggs, milk, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, and blade mace. Stir in dried fruit. 2. Grease an earthenware baking dish with butter, and pour in egg mixture. Float bread on top, and dunk under to soak. Allow to sit for an hour or so. 3. Grate some nutmeg over the top, and bake in a very slow oven for 2-3 hours. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with a dollop of double cream if desired. VARIATION: "In what is known in our household as 'the Eliza Acton variant', instead of using vanilla sugar, I substitute plain sugar and flavour the mixture with almond essence. And instead of the currants, I mix lemon and orange zest into the egg-milk mixture. The almond essence invariably leads to a row because Beverley likes very little and I like a wretched excess of the stuff. If you want to be totally Eliza Acton, add a wineglass full of brandy to the mixture and stir it in well before adding the buttered bread." (R.B) BUDIN DE PAN (ARGENTINE BREAD PUDDING) Bread pudding in Argentina is a like a solid creme caramel. My Papa adores his budin de pan, and if we are making it for him for a treat, we show respect by making it totally plain! Many people in Argentina add cocoa, sultanas, caramelized apple, etc., and my own mother made an admirable version with rum-soaked raisins and walnuts, but this is an abomination to him! The only frippery he will allow is a dollop of dulce de leche (a caramel "milk jam" known by different names throughout Latin America) before serving. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 white loaf of bread 4 cups milk 6 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp. vanilla Method: 1. You will need a cake tin; have it ready to go nearby. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan, and stir constantly over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Increase heat to high, and allow to boil, without stirring again, until a rich, honey-gold colour. Pour into cake tin. With your towel-protected hands, swirl the caramel until it coats the base and sides of the tin. Set aside to cool and harden. 2. Remove crusts from bread and cut into small cubes: you should have about 4 cups of crumb. Pour over milk, and allow to sit for 30-60 min. With your hands, squish up the bread so it's a homogeneous mass. (Do not, however, use a mixer or food processor, which would totally destroy the texture.) 3. Beat eggs with sugar and vanilla until light, and stir into the bread mixture to combine. 4. Pour bread mixture into cake tin. Place cake tin in a baking dish full of water, and bake in a moderate oven 50-60 min. until set. Cool, and refrigerate overnight. Unmould to serve. CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING Incredibly rich! Ingredients: 200g. dark chocolate, broken into squares 2 large eggs 4 egg yolks 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 cups light cream 2 cups bread cubes (no crust) 2 tsp. cinnamon Method: 1. Melt chocolate over simmering water or in the microwave; cool. Beat eggs and egg yolks until light. Add chocolate and 3/4 cup of the sugar, and beat until sugar is dissolved. Add cream and vanilla, and beat to combine. 2. Grease a baking dish with butter, and add the bread. Pour over the egg mixture, and dunk the bread under. Allow to sit for 30-60 min. 3. Combine remaining sugar with cinnamon, and sprinkle over the pudding. Place baking dish in another baking dish full of water, and bake in a moderate oven about 50 min., until set. Serve warm or cold. CAPIROTADA (MEXICAN BREAD PUDDING) Rounding off my homage to bread pudding is this recipe from Mexico, where the eggs are replaced with cottage cheese. Ingredients: 1 cup water 1 1/3 cups brown sugar 1 cinnamon stick butter for frying 10 slices bread, crusts removed, cut into cubes 1/3 cup sultanas 1 cup chopped walnuts 3/4 cup cottage cheese powdered cinnamon whipped cream, to serve Method: 1. Combine water, sugar, and cinnamon stick. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high, and boil, without stirring again, for five minutes. Remove cinnamon stick. 2. Fry bread cubes in the butter until evenly browned. Stir into the syrup, together with the sultanas, walnuts, and cheese. Simmer gently until all is thoroughly amalgamated. 3. Turn mixture into a well-greased earthenware dish and sprinkle with cinnamon to taste. Bake in a moderately hot oven for 15-20 min., or until set and golden brown. Serve warm with cream. TORRIJAS This recipe is almost unchanged from the time of Apicius: "Take bread made of fine wheat flour; remove the crust and cut it in fairly harge mouthfuls that you then soak in milk and fry in oil. Moisten with honey and serve." You can also substitute the milk with good red wine or Spanish sherry. Torrijas, along with the following French Toast and Pain Perdu (or Payn Pur-dew or Poor Knights of Windsor, as Jane Grigson called it, as ever declaring that it's difficult to tell where French cuisine ends and English cuisine begins) are all related. The variations in each dish are so vast that torrijas, pain perdu and French toast overlap at several junctions. So feel free to adapt, add, and subtract - and call it whatever you like! Ingredients: 2 cups milk 1/3 cup sugar 1 cinnamon stick 1 French loaf, very stale, sliced 2 eggs, beaten (opt.) light olive oil for frying honey or cinnamon sugar Method: 1. Combine milk, sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Strain and cool. Pour over bread and allow to soak until liquid is absorbed. 2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Dip bread into eggs if using, and fry until golden on both sides. Drizzle with honey or sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and serve. BAKED TORRIJAS This recipe is slightly different to the one above in that it is baked after frying, and absorbs some of the delicious honey mixture. Despite the richness, I think it is very sweet, so it should be served with plain whipped cream, or maybe some lovely thick Greek yoghurt. Ingredients: 4 thick slices bread, cut into wide strips 1 cup milk 2 eggs, beaten light olive oil for frying 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup dry Spanish sherry Method: 1. Place bread in a shallow dish and pour over milk. Allow to sit for about 5 min. Transfer bread to paper towels to drain. 2. Dip the bread into the eggs, and fry in the olive oil until lightly golden. Transfer to an earthenware casserole. 3. Combine honey and sherry, and pour over bread in casserole. Bake in a moderate oven 20-25 min, until golden brown. Serve immediately, or allow to cool completely before serving. RICH FRENCH TOAST This recipe is very rich - so eat it for brekkie at your peril! Otherwise it makes a lovely base or sandwich for caramel or fresh fruits, with a complementary sauce, or cream, or ice cream. Ingredients: 1/4 cup cream 2 eggs 2 tbsp. brandy 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla essence 4 thick slices brioche or egg bread butter for frying Method: 1. Whisk together cream, eggs, brandy, sugar, and vanilla essence. Add bread, and allow to sit until liquid is absorbed. 2. Melt butter over medium heat in a frying pan, and fry bread until golden brown on both sides. Serve immediately with the toppings of your choice. PAIN PERDU Ingredients: 3 eggs 3/4 cup milk 1/2 cup sugar 1 tbsp. orange flower water 2 tsp. finely grated orange rind (no pith) 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 8 thick slices bread (preferably French) butter for frying Method: 1. Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, orange flower water, orange rind, and nutmeg. Add bread, and allow to sit until liquid is absorbed. 2. Melt butter over medium heat in a frying pan, and fry bread until golden brown on both sides. Serve immediately with the toppings of your choice. |
Recipes using bread
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