Butternut Squash, Spinach and Mushroom Bread Pudding with herby, lovely goat's cheese

I've come to love savoury bread puddings lately, though it's been out of necessity. I have an absurd amount of bread hanging out in my freezer at the moment, and I've been looking for ways to use it that aren't just toast. Not that toast isn't fantastic - it is, but this girl is a little too fancy to live on toast alone. 

This recipe closely mimics the simple method for my Locavore Bread Pudding, from a few months back, as bread pudding is lovely and simple. Obviously, bread pudding is a wonderful, versatile dish, and a great way to use up sub-par ingredients that are about to go off, as well as day-old or stale bread. Basically anything can go into a bread pudding, and it can be sweet or savoury. This means that the bread pudding recipes that I present to you here are 100 per cent adaptable, to what tickles your fancy, or simply what's in your fridge. In my case, the latter concern dictated the composition of this dish. I found the butternut squash to be a wonderful flavour base, and worked surprisingly well with my leftover mushrooms, which added a hearty depth to the dish. However, my favourite part of this dish has to be the herby goat's cheese (made with real goat!) that I shredded and added to the dish. There are no words to describe it, other than delicious, of course.

Fresh out of the oven, in all its multicoloured glory

Serves 4 real-life human beings

Ingredients:

½ loaf of stale or day-old bread, torn into very small pieces

(my bread of choice was a wholewheat loaf, but anything will do!)

1 half of a medium butternut squash, diced. 

4-5 button mushrooms, sliced

1 small tomato, sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 small handfuls of spinach, shredded or chopped

4-6 oz of Vermont goat's cheese, laden with wonderful herbs

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups whole milk (no milk? water will do!)

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon rosemary

1 tablespoon oregano

Pepper and/or chilli powder, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 Celsius), and oil or butter an 8x8in baking/casserole dish.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk, and season with the herbs.

Add the butternut squash, spinach, mushrooms, tomato slices, garlic and bread and mix together.

Shred and add the cheese and stir gently until all ingredients are evenly coated with the eggy mixture.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Place in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, until the mixture is puffed and browned. Bake for an additional 10 minutes if the mixture remains soggy.

Serve to your favourite hipsters, and tell them all the ingredients are local.