Broccoli Casserole

OK, I know this sounds kind of boring. The only reason I originally made this is because I was doing a project to cook all of the recipes out of The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. In that book it is called Jane and Michael Stern's Broccoli Casserole. It was good, but it was in the bland, comfort food realm. I have adapted it to make it a little spicier, with more interesting cheese, and larger; it makes delicious leftovers.

Broccoli Casserole

6 slices hearty white bread, torn up in bite-size pieces. (Sourdough is great. I used a Pain Au Levain I bought in Portland.)
4 large eggs or 5 small
1/2 cup low-fat milk
4 T butter, melted
3/4 cup grated gruyere
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1/4 cup grated parmesano
1 1/2 teas salt
4 T sugar
1-2 teas chipotle Tabasco
1 jalapeno, minced
1/2 teas red pepper flakes
1 large head broccoli, florets and their stems, chopped finely (about 3 cups)

Preheat oven to 350.
Butter (or non-stick spray) a 9" X 13" casserole dish. Spread your torn bread over the bottom of the pan. It can be up to half of the depth of the dish.



Combine eggs, milk, melted butter, cheeses, salt, sugar, and seasonings in a bowl. Mix well and then add broccoli and thoroughly combine. If mix seems dry, you can add a touch more milk. Pour mixture over bread crumbs.

Cover with foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 or so minutes more to lightly brown the top.


Easy and delicious and infinite variations await; I think of this as my too-lazy-to-cook-anything-complicated-go-to recipe.