Savory Sausage, Greens And Slow Roasted Tomato Bread Pudding

• For Slow Roasted Tomatoes
• 12 large cherry tomatoes, halved crosswise
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pinches of sea salt
• 2 pinches of sugar
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• In the morning:
• Unsalted butter for the casserole
• 1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon chevre
• 1/3 cup blue cheese
• 1 day old baguette, sliced and cubed (for about 7 cups of cubes) - I used a frozen baguette that I let sit out for twenty minutes or so before cutting
• 2 links spicy Italian sausage (can substitute sweet Italian sausage if you prefer)
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups chopped kale leaves (I used a mixture of lacinato and curly kale)
• 10 sweet basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 3/4 cup 1% milk
• Pinch of sea salt
• Grinds of fresh black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Using the tip of a sharp knife, gently scrape and scoop tomato halves to remove most of the seeds.
3. Arrange tomato halves on paper, topping each with minced garlic. Sprinkle tomato halves with salt and sugar. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until wrinkled and mostly dry. Start checking at 45 minutes to make sure they do not burn. Make tomatoes in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight; be sure to allow tomatoes to come up to room temperature before using.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large 13x9x2 ovenproof casserole dish. Set aside
5. In a small bowl, combine cheeses, breaking up large chunks with a fork. Set aside.
6. Remove casings and saute sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, using a wooden spoon to crumble sausage. Cook until browned on all sides. Remove sausage with a spoon (not slotted) and drain on a plate lined with a paper towel.
7. Add onion and garlic to hot pan with sausage drippings. Cook, stirring, until onion begins to get translucent, about two minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add kale and cook, stirring until wilted and bright green. Remove pan from heat.
8. Stir in slow roasted tomatoes and cooked sausage.
9. Layer about 1/2 of the bread cubes in bottom of baking dish. Follow with 1/2 of the sausage-tomato-kale mixture, and then dot with 1/2 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layers once more to use all of sausage-tomato-kale, cheese, and bread.
10. Whisk eggs with half-and-half and milk. Stir in basil ribbons. Season with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; since the sausage and cheese add a lot of salt you do not need a lot. Pour evenly over bread-sausage-tomato-kale-cheese mixture.
11. Using the back of a spoon, gently press down on bread cubes to soak up liquid. There will not be enough liquid to submerge the bread, this is okay. This will ensure that the top is crispy and the bottom soft.
12. Bake bread pudding in the middle oven for about 50-55 minutes. Bread top should be golden and the pudding fragrant. Allow to cool for a bit and then serve immediately. Enjoy!

tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, garlic, salt, sugar, extra virgin olive oil, butter, chevre, blue cheese, baguette, italian sausage, onion, garlic, chopped kale leaves, sweet basil, eggs, milk, salt, black pepper

Taken from food52.com/recipes/8246-savory-sausage-greens-and-slow-roasted-tomato-bread-pudding (may not work)