Pumpkin, leek and spinach bread pudding with Berkswell and cheddar

Prep time: 1 hour, plus 1 hour sitting time Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Serves 6

This is a great brunch recipe. You can assemble it the night before then shove it in the oven the next morning. Make sure the spinach is completely wrung out. If it’s watery it will dilute the eggs, making it difficult for the pudding to set.

There are three British cheeses in this, though you can go for Italian alternatives for the ricotta and Berkswell.

INGREDIENTS

– 250g Westcombe ricotta, or Italian ricotta

– 900g pumpkin or butternut squash

– 4 tbsp olive oil

– 400g leeks, trimmed, outer leaves removed and the rest cut into 1.5cm lengths

– 400g spinach, prepared weight (trimmed if required)

– generous grating of nutmeg

– 6 large eggs, lightly beaten

– 350ml whole milk

– 100ml double cream – 35g Berkswell cheese, or Parmesan, grated

– 175g extra-mature cheddar, grated

– 125g sourdough bread (weighed without the crusts)

– butter, for greasing

METHOD

Heat the oven to 180C / 170C fan/gas mark 4. Place the ricotta in a sieve to drain.

Peel the squash, remove the seeds and cut it into chunks, about 1cm square. Toss into a roasting tin with two tablespoons of olive oil and season. Roast for 20 minutes, turning the squash over a couple of times. You want it to end up with slightly caramelised edges. Leave to cool. You can turn the oven off while you prepare the other components.

Wash the leeks in a colander, agitating them to dislodge any soil. Heat a tablespoon and a half of olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan. Add the leeks and stir them round in the fat. Season. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover and cook over a medium-low heat until they’re tender, checking on them every so often.

Once the leeks are tender, remove the lid and turn the heat right up. You need to get rid of excess moisture or it will ruin the custard in the pudding, making it too wet to set. Check the leeks for seasoning.

Put the spinach in a large saucepan, pressing it all down, and add about four tablespoons of water. Put the lid on and cook over a low-medium heat until the spinach has completely wilted (6-8 minutes), turning it a couple of times.

Drain the spinach and leave it to cool. When it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the liquid out using your hands, or press the spinach between a couple of dinner plates. It’s important that you do this well. Chop roughly and put half a tablespoon of olive oil in the frying pan. Fry the spinach in the oil so that it gets quite dry. Season and grate some fresh nutmeg over it.

Put the drained ricotta in a bowl and mash it. In a large jug, beat together the eggs, milk, cream, ricotta, a third of the Berkswell and cheddar, nutmeg and seasoning. Mix until smooth. Tear or cut the bread into cubes and add these to the jug.

Butter a pie dish and ladle half of the bread and milk mixture into it. Add half the vegetables. Scatter half the remaining cheddar and Berkswell on top. Spoon on the rest of the bread mixture then the rest of the vegetables. Leave to sit for an hour, or you can cover and keep it in the fridge overnight. It just makes the pudding a bit lighter.

Heat the oven to 180C / 170C fan/gas mark 4.

Sprinkle the rest of the Berkswell and cheddar over the top of the pudding. Put the dish in a roasting tin and add enough boiling water to come one third of the way up the sides of the dish. Bake for an hour, although you may need more. Push a knife into the centre of the pudding – there shouldn’t be any cream or egg on it when you pull it out. Leave for 15-20 minutes so the dish can settle and cool a little before serving with a green salad.