Parmesan Bread Pudding with Roasted Asparagus and Pancetta

This is such a nice alternative to rice or potato.  It is really easy to make, and you can use any vegetables you want....my kind of recipe!

Here are your basic ingredients;

5 garlic cloves, sliced

1 bunch of asparagus stalks

about 2 cups of sliced cherry tomatoes

1 loaf of some sort of artisan bread

Salt and Pepper

1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

1 cup of chopped pancetta

I begin by roasting some asparagus, drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper.  The oven is set to 400 degrees.  When it is done, I remove the asparagus from the pan and spread 5 thinly sliced garlic cloves in the oil that is left in the pan and pop it back in the hot oven, just so soften them a bit.

I purchased a loaf of artisan country white bread and cut it into cubes (approximately 8 cups worth)

Take a nice big bowl and combine the bread, asparagus, about 1 cup of Parmesan cheese and the sliced cherry tomatoes.

One more step left.  In a blender, combine 6 eggs and 2 cups of milk, 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, along with some crushed red pepper.  Pour about 1/2 of this over the bread mixture in your bowl.  Once the milk has been absorbed, pour everything into your pan and pour the rest of the egg mixture over the top.   Add your chopped pancetta, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45-50 minutes.

Not only does this taste delicious, but it looks beautiful.  As I said, feel free to try different cheeses, vegetables, and bread to change up the flavors.  You can also add herbs as well.  Have fun experimenting with it!