Leek, Tomato and eggy bread bake

Like most loaves, the final crusts tend to linger a bit longer than you’d like. As soon as a loaf starts to look like it’s running out, I tend to bake another, and that means the end crust can sometimes get shouldered aside by a nice, fresh, warm and inviting new loaf. The Circle of Loaf. Sorry. But I found this recipe and it uses up left over bread really well. What’s great is that it is simple beyond belief and tastes very good. More than that, it’s quick. What’s not to like?

This recipe is for two people – just double the numbers for 4 or treble for 6.

15g Butter

100g white crusty bread, torn into chunks (that’s about 2 medium slices)

1 leek, thinly sliced

1 clove of garlic, chopped or pureed though a garlic press if you have one

50g cherry tomatoes, halved (about 5-6 toms!)

2 eggs

100g milk

50g grated cheddar

This is about 30 minutes from start to eating, with 15-20 minutes of that just waiting – the smell’s great so by the time it’s ready, your appetite should be at full volume!

Heat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan, Gas Mark 6). Get your Emma Bridgewater pie dish (you don’t have one? Shame on you! Well, you’ll just have to use a small pie dish – ours is 8″ x 6″ and 1½” deep which turned out the perfect size for this recipe) and use the butter wrapper to give it a greasing. Fill the bottom with the bread chunks.

Heat the butter in a small pan and when it gets going tip in the sliced leeks and garlic. Cook until the leeks are soft and tender (about 5 minutes), then tip the mixture on top of the bread. Share your cherry tomatoes over the top.

Take the milk and beat in the eggs, and add the cheese. Pour over the bread, leeks and tomatoes and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

And that’s it! Enjoy!