Panade, with Swiss Chard, Onion, and Cheddar Sausage

It's amazing when a leftover ingredient gets used up in a delicious way.  After I first tried Panzanella, I found it so marvelous that, come spring, I started freezing all my Good Bread** ends for summer salads.  But I didn't have a winter equivalent for the Good Bread leftovers until my spouse sent me a Buzzfeed article that included this link.  I was intrigued.  Not about the pumpkin, but what was inside.

Panade.  Never heard of it.  I searched around the webs and found this version.  Apparently panade took the food blog world by storm a few years ago.  I can only assume it was during another deployment and I was not Creating Grand (farm fresh) Feasts, only making stuff the kids and I would eat--with very few leftovers.  Now that I'm blogging, what will I do with this next deployment?  I need suggestions.  So far I'm thinking a Farm Fresh For Fewer series.

This is a Grand Dish.  It takes a long time to bake (but a comparatively small amount of hands-on time) so I found it perfect for a Sunday supper.  Just like with panzanella in the summertime, panade takes leftover bread and turns it into a delicious new meal.  And with my Swiss chard growing like crazy in the garden, it provides me with a great way to use a readily available green.  I switched it up a bit and added some 'we're never going to eat this for breakfast so why not toss it in?' leftover cheddar sausage links to the finished dish.  Everyone went back for seconds.  If you missed this one a while back, do try this at home.

**Good bread for me is La Brea Bakery Whole Grain Loaf.  I usually buy it in a two-pack at Costco but have seen it in my local grocery stores in both Virginia and Ohio.  Any dense chewy whole grain bread is Good Bread in my book, though. If you'd like to make your own at home, I recommend my Multigrain Sourdough Bread.
For other recipes using Swiss Chard, please see my Swiss Chard Recipe Collection, part of my Visual Recipe Index.

Love my Benriner.  Buy one at an Asian grocery store. $30, tops.

At this point I decided I needed more chard and went out to the garden for a few more stems.

Toss the bread cubes in oil.

Add half of the onions.

Add half of the bread. 

Add half of the chard, the cheese, and the sausage.

Repeat the layers. 

Pour the hot broth into the dish.

Panade, with Swiss Chard, Onion, and Cheddar Sausage

3 large onions, thinly sliced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 extra large bunch chard, stems finely chopped, leaves sliced into ribbons

6 cups cubed leftover Good Bread, tossed with 3 Tablespoons olive oil and a healthy pinch of salt

2 cups grated Gruyere cheese

2 Tablespoons butter

2-3 cups broth (mine was chicken, but veggie, beef, or turkey would all work)

6 leftover cheddar breakfast sausage links (optional)

Heat a pretty purple pot or heavy skillet over medium heat and add a turn of oil.  Stir the onions in the hot oil and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium-low, add garlic, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned--another 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with a healthy (1/2 teaspoon) pinch of salt.  Set aside.
While the onions are caramelizing, preheat a large skillet over medium heat and add a turn of oil.  Sauté the Swiss chard stems for 5 minutes until slightly softened.  Add leaves and stir until wilted, another 3-5 minutes.  Realize it's not enough.  Get more from the garden and repeat the process. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the Swiss chard and onions are cooking and you're at the stove anyway and/or if you've got some and feel like adding it, brown 6 links of cheddar breakfast sausage in a small skillet over medium heat.  Chop into small pieces, set aside.
Pop the butter in a deep casserole dish and melt it in the preheating oven.  Layer half the onions across the bottom of the dish.  Top with half of the bread cubes, half of the chard, half the optional sausage, and half the cheese.  Press down with the back of a handy spatula.  Repeat layers.
Heat the broth (I did 2 minutes in the microwave) and pour over the panade until you can see the liquid peeking out under the top layer.  Press the layers down into the broth.
Cover with non-stick pan lining paper (parchment side down, foil side up) and bake for 90 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove the cover, return to the oven, increase heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking until nicely browned, about 15-20 more minutes.  Serve.  Leftovers (of this dish of leftovers!) are delicious too.

This post is linked up with the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up at Gastronomical Sovereignty,  What's Cookin' Wednesday at Buns in My Oven, What's In The Box at In Her Chucks, Taste and Tell Thursdays, Food On Friday and the newly-expanded Farm Girl Blog Fest at Let This Mind Be In You.

This is what it looked like after 90 minutes when I removed the cover.