Who among us has not occasionally got stuck with leftover bread? Old bread is an excellent bread, if you know what to make of it. For example, roast chicken stuffed with toast baked in tomato juices, gazpacho with bruschetta, and even pudding 

This section started with bread. Just bread, and more old bread. We all get stuck occasionally with excess bread and always sucks to throw. Once upon a time our mothers would regularly dry out all the excess bread in favor of homemade bread crumbs, or they would add the old bread to patties, and so on and so forth. 

This time I chose to take the old bread and create from it three relatively classic recipes, but with my own personal interpretation.

Tomato gazpacho with bruschetta

Gaspacho Cold Tomato Soup as its name implies - "induced bread" in Spanish. This soup was born and made in Spain from the exploitation of leftover bread, and we were privileged to receive a soup that stars today in Michelin restaurants as well. I added a simple bruschetta to the soup, which accompanies it wonderfully and provides us with additional use of the excess bread left in the kitchen cabinets.

Ingredients for the soup (for 6 servings):

√ 12 ripe red tomatoes. Before preparing the soup, put them in the refrigerator for two hours

√ 1 hot green pepper

√ 2 cloves of peeled garlic

√ 2 thick slices of dry bread without the crust

√ 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

√ 1/2 1 teaspoon Atlantic salt

√ 1/4 cup olive oil

For the bruschetta:

√ 6 slices of old- fashioned sourdough bread

√ 6 tablespoons olive oil

√ 1 clove garlic

√ 3 sliced ​​Maggie tomatoes

√ 2 chopped oregano branches

√ 3-4 finely sliced ​​basil leaves

√ a little Atlantic salt

To serve:

√ A handful of ice cubes

√ A little olive oil

Preparation of the soup: 

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and grind to obtain a smooth texture. Transfer the soup to a fine sieve and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. When serving, pour the soup into bowls, place 2-3 ice cubes in each bowl, drizzle over a little olive oil and serve.

Preparation of the bruschetta: 

Spread each slice of bread with a teaspoon of olive oil and cook on a griddle pan for about 2 minutes on each side, until the bread is lightly golden. Remove the slices from the heat, rub the clove of garlic on each slice and squeeze half a tomato on each of the slices. Then sprinkle with chopped oregano, basil leaves and a little Atlantic salt. Serve with the gazpacho.

Roast chicken stuffed with bread

This is one of the simplest yet most delightful fillings created. Imagine bread that we roast and water in tomato juices, add leeks and garlic that we gilded with olive oil, oregano, sage, vinegar, pepper and salt, and then cram all this goodness into the chicken belly cavity. 

A simple and good family dish, for which alone it is worthwhile to always have excess bread at home.

Ingredients for the fly:

√ 1 small whole chicken

√ 1/4 cup olive oil

√ 2 garlic cloves separated by teeth

√ 10 small white onions peeled and halved

√ 1 sage branch

√ 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

√ 1 teaspoon salt

√ 1/2 cup beef stock

For the filling:

√ 1 day-old sourdough bread torn into small pieces

√ 1/4 cup olive oil

√ 3 coarsely chopped leek units

√ 2 cloves garlic coarsely sliced

√ 3 sage leaves

√ 1/2 1 teaspoon Atlantic salt

√ 1/2 1 teaspoon black pepper Gross

√ 6 halved Maggie tomatoes

√ 3 tablespoons cherry vinegar

√ Grated 1 lemon

√ 4 coarsely chopped oregano branches

Start filling: Preheat oven to 180 degrees, season the pieces of bread with a little olive oil and bake for about 5 minutes or until the bread is slightly greased (it is important not to get into a situation where the bread turns into hard and dry croutons). Heat a wide pan over a medium flame, add the olive oil and leeks and fry for about 20 minutes until the leeks are lightly golden. Add the garlic, sage, salt and black pepper and mix. Add the toast lightly and mix well again. Squeeze in the tomatoes, add the vinegar, turn off the heat and add the lemon zest and oregano. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and continue to mix with your hands until a uniform mixture is obtained.

Now go to the chicken: slightly salt the chicken belly, fill it with the bread mixture (it's okay if you have to cram it in!) And tie the chicken legs with a dedicated tying rope (possibly also with sewing thread). Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, garlic, onions and sage and brown well. Season with salt and pepper and add the beef stock. Bring to a boil and put the chicken inside.

 Cover the pan with a lid and put everything in a preheated oven at 190 degrees. Roast for about an hour, remove the lid, raise the temperature to 210 degrees and roast for another 20 minutes. At this time the chicken caramelizes and the bread drinks the liquids. Remove and serve hot.

Bread pudding with nectarines

A simple and comforting dish created from the use of brioche challah leftovers or any other bread. Form in a "custard" batter of milk, cream and eggs, pour over the bread crumbs, allow the liquids to absorb well and bake with brown sugar on top until you get an apple-crispy pastry on the outside and tender on the inside. Along with the pudding, I served nectarines that were roasted until golden - a caramelized and fatty pleasure.

Ingredients:

√ 6 milk or brioche rolls, or a large brioche challah for the 



batter:

√ 1/4 1 cups milk

√ 1/2 2 cups sweet cream

√ 7 egg yolks

√ 1 halved vanilla stick

√ 3/4 cup white sugar

√ 3 tablespoons sugar Demerara heat

√ Scrape from 1 lime or lemon

√ 3-4 clean and ground black cardamom beans to powder 

For nectarines:

√ 6 halved and pitted  orange nectarines 

√ 1 tablespoon butter

√ 4 tablespoons demerara brown sugar

√ a pinch of Atlantic salt 

To serve:

√ A handful of tarragon leaves

√ Fresh cream

Preparation of the bread pudding: In

a large bowl, place the milk, cream, egg yolks, vanilla, white sugar, lemon zest and cardamom and stir until a uniform mass is obtained (you can grind in a rod blender to dissolve the sugar). Tear the rolls or challah into medium pieces and place in a pan or individual serving dish, pour over the liquid mixture (make sure all the bread is soaked) and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours. Preheat oven to 200 degrees and bake the bread for 20 minutes. Remove, sprinkle over the brown sugar and return to the oven for another 5 minutes, until the pudding is puffy, browned and caramelized.

Preparation of the nectarines: 

Arrange the nectarines in a baking tray with baking paper, place a little butter on each nectarine and sprinkle the brown sugar and salt. Roast in the oven at 220 degrees on top grill mode and remove after 6 minutes, or when the nectarines are roasted and caramelized. Sprinkle a little fresh tarragon leaves and serve with the bread pudding with whipped cream. 

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