A few years back, Sharon Campbell was hungry. The Tieton Cider Works co-founder reached out to Seattle-based chef Olaiya Land and asked the culinary expert if she was interested in testing cider in recipes. After humbling admitting she wasn’t too familiar with pairing cider and her cuisine, she accepted the challenge and the two got to work. Today, Tieton’s website regularly features recipes from Land and Campbell’s collaborations, including holiday helper meals like this spinach, walnut and gruyère bread pudding.
A win-win featuring a few of our favorite things — cider, cheese and bread — the nutty, spicy and savory components make the dish a triple threat at the holiday dinner table. Campbell and Land suggest serving it alongside fish, next to a salad or even with eggs for breakfast. Using the Tieton Cider Works Cranberry cider, the sipper makes itself a natural pairing — even if it’s at breakfast time.
Spinach, Walnut and Gruyère Bread Pudding
Recipe courtesy of Sharon Campbell and Olaiya Land
Serves 6-8
Ingredients for the filling:
1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 bag (10 ounces) fresh spinach, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
1 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
12 tablespoons Tieton Cider Works Cranberry cider
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
Pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Butter for the baking dish
8 ounces gruyère cheese, coarsely grated
Ingredients for the bread:
7 large eggs
2 ¼ cups half and half
6 tablespoons Tieton Cider Works Cranberry cider
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 10 cups day-old country white bread or baguette, torn into 1-inch pieces
Directions:
Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and walnuts. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft, golden brown and caramelized, 20-25 minutes.
While the onions and walnuts are cooking, prepare the bread. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, cider, Dijon and salt. Add the bread. Stir gently to make sure the bread is soaked in the egg mixture and set aside.
When the onions and walnuts are lightly caramelized, add 2 tablespoons of the cider to the pan. Cook until most of the cider has evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the spices and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the chopped spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and most (but not all) of the water has cooked off; don’t get the spinach too dry or the bread pudding will be dry. Remove the spinach mixture from the heat and add the lemon zest. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside to cool slightly.
Preheat the oven to 350° F and generously butter a 13-inch by 9-inch by 2-inch baking dish.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer half of the bread from the egg mixture and arranging it in the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon half of the spinach mixture over the bread and top with half of cheese. Repeat with the remaining bread, spinach mixture and cheese. Pour any remaining egg mixture over the top.
Cover the bread pudding with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, until the bread feels springy (not wet) to the touch, about 20 minutes longer.
Preheat the broiler and broil the bread pudding until the cheese is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes and serve.
