As a vegetarian I’m happy with bread and cheese for this, but you could also add some decent ham or gently sautéed leeks (say 400g roasted to be added into the recipe along with the cheeses).

Bread pudding with Comté and Taleggio

Don’t feel tied to tracking down Comté or Taleggio, even though they feel perfect for this. You need a firm-textured, punchy cheese for slicing and another that will melt into strings, such as Fontina. (Mozzarella is a bit on the mild side for this.)

Serves 4-6
bread 400g, crusty white and rustic
butter 150g, softened
Comté 300g
Taleggio 200g
thyme 12 small sprigs
Parmesan 50g
egg yolks 4
double cream 250ml
milk 300ml, full-cream

You will also need a baking dish measuring approximately 20x24cm, lightly buttered.

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Cut the bread into slices, leaving the crusts on, about 1cm in thickness. Lay the slices flat on a baking sheet place in the oven for 10 minutes, turning once, until lightly crisp.

Remove the bread from the oven and spread generously with the butter. Cut the Comté and Taleggio into 1cm thick slices. Tear the ham into large bite-sized pieces. Pull the thyme leaves from their stems.

Place a single layer of the buttered bread on the bottom of the dish, tucking the slices together snugly. Place some of the cheese on top, add a little black pepper, some thyme leaves then another layer of buttered bread and more of the cheese. Continue until the ingredients are used up.

Finely grate most of the Parmesan into a small mixing bowl, add the egg yolks, then mix in the double cream and milk with a fork or small whisk. Season with a little salt then pour over the bread letting it trickle down through the layers. Grate the reserved Parmesan over the surface.

Cover the top of the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for a further 10 minutes until the top is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to settle for 10 minutes before serving.