Bread pudding makes most of leftovers

Savory Bread Pudding with Zucchini

Everyone, at some point, has leftover bread loitering in the kitchen. Dinner rolls, the last few slices from a loaf, even biscuits — these breads can all end up like unwanted houseguests who are overstaying their welcome.

So, how to use some of this up?

You can cut the bread, toast it, and turn it into croutons, or grind it into crumbs to coat an eggplant or chicken. And a time-honored tradition is to soak cubes of it in custard to make bread pudding — a cozy, comforting dessert.

But bread pudding doesn’t have to be sweet. And in today’s dinner recipe, it’s going to help use up another hanger-on, zucchini.

Serve this with a salad, and you’ve got a perfect savory, end-of-summer meal.

Savory Bread Pudding with Zucchini

1 large, day-old dinner roll (see note)

½ cup grated zucchini, squeezed dry

2 eggs

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh herbs, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 1-cup ramekin.

Cut the dinner roll into ¾-inch cubes; place into the ramekin along with the zucchini.

Beat the eggs with the milk, mustard, cheese, salt, pepper, and herbs; carefully pour over the bread cubes and zucchini, then let rest for 15 minutes.

Bake the bread pudding for 30 minutes, until golden; a knife inserted into the center should come out just clean.

Note: If you don’t have a leftover dinner roll, that’s okay, you need about 1 cup of cubes, whatever form of bread you use.

Yield: 1 serving

Source: Mary Bilyeu

Contact Mary Bilyeu at 419-724-6155 or mbilyeu@theblade.com, and follow her at facebook.com/thebladefoodpage.