Recipe: Tomato Basil Bread Pudding

Tomato Basil Bread Pudding
alt.cooking-chien/Calvin Y. Konno (2000)
Serves 8

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 loaf bread, dry, cubed
2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced, or 1/2 (14 1/2-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, without the liquid; plus 1 tomato, thinly sliced into 8 rounds
2 cups milk
1 cup prepared pesto sauce
1 egg, plus 2 egg whites, gently beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees; prepare 8 ovenproof ramekins with nonstick olive oil spray.

In medium saut pan, saut onions in oil until softened; add garlic and cook 1 minute.

Place bread in large bowl, add onion mixture and all other ingredients; stir. Bread should be moist, with some liquid, but not soupy. If it's too soupy, add more bread.

Place slice of tomato in bottom of each ramekin and spoon bread mixture on top.

Place all ramekins in a larger baking dish and fill large dish with warm water halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake 45 minutes.

Remove from oven. Run small knife around edge and invert on small plates to serve.