I hate wasting food, especially bread, but there are only so many bags of breadcrumbs you can freeze (which I used to make my own stuffings), or croutons to store, bread puddings to enjoy. In summer I might make Summer Pudding or Apple Charlotte perhaps, and occasionally a bread and butter pudding, delicious served hot with evaporated milk. So, apart from feeding the birds with it, I thought I’d try making a savoury bread and butter pudding using some of the foods still harbouring in my fridge from Christmas. Real comfort food for a cold day. It turned out so good, I made another the following week. The method is simple, much like making a sweet b&b pudding. This is one of those recipes that can be adapted to whatever you have in the fridge, be it bacon or ham, sausages, any sort of cheese or a mixture of cheeses, tomatoes, spring onions, chives… are you getting the idea? The list and variety are endless. Can be served for breakfast, lunch perhaps with a side salad or as a main meal or supper.

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
onion, finely chopped (or caramelised onion chutney or other chutney of choice)
6 slices white bread generously buttered
3 eggs
400ml milk
75g grated cheese(any sort or a mixture)
salt & pepper
nutmeg

Optional:
diced bacon rashers (cooked)
cooked leeks or other cooked veg
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
chopped roasted red pepper from a jar
cooked mushrooms
cubed ham
spring onion, chopped
chives
garlic
chilli powder/flakes
paprika

1. Preheat oven to gas 5, 190ºC, fan 170°C and lightly grease an ovenproof dish.
2. In a pan heat oil and fry chopped bacon rashers (if used) and onion until soft and bacon brown.
3. Cut the buttered bread into triangles and arrange in layers in the dish with the onion or chutney, cheese and any/or other ingredients of your choice.
4. Beat the eggs and milk together and pour over. Season lightly to taste.
5. Pour eggs over bread, dot with sliced tomatoes (optional), sprinkle with grated nutmeg and/or paprika and a little more of the cheese and bake for 30/45 minutes until golden.

Best served hot.