Patricio Sandoval, executive chef at Mercadito, an upscale Mexican restaurant in River North, adapted this recipe from his grandmother’s bread pudding, or budin de calabaza. It’s a great way to get rid of bread that’s no longer fit for sandwiches — the older and drier, the better!
Ingredients
- 8 large eggs
- 3 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1-pound of bolillo bread, cut 1- inch cubes
- 1 cup black raisins
Mezcal sauce
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 ounces granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 ounces mezcal
Directions
- Butter 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Add milk, sugar, cream, vanilla, and pumpkin; whisk to blend well
- Stir in bread and raisins.
- Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake pudding uncovered until puffed and golden, about 75 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall). Serve warm with mezcal sauce (directions below).
- To make the mezcal sauce, simply combine all ingredients and whisk until whipped well.
