Southern Tomato Pudding: Two Recipes

This is one of those simple, mouthwatering Southern dishes!   Basically, it's tomatoes, sugar, butter, and bread, stirred together and baked in a casserole dish.  I've included two recipes here. The first one contains more ingredients and uses fresh tomatoes.  The second is from one of my favorite Charleston, SC restaurants and is more simple, using canned tomatoes.  This is a great side dish to almost anything imaginable! 

Tomato Pudding #1

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons salted butter

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

1 tablespoon of all purpose flour (or Wondra)

1 pound of tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon dried basil

3 slices of bread, toasted and torn or cut into chunks

 (I like to use rosemary olive oil batard from the grocer’s bakery)

3/4 cup shredded cheese, your choice (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

·         Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute the onion until tender.

·         Stir in the flour, tomatoes and sugar; stir until combined; then add the bread pieces.

·         Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and basil

·         Pour mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 9-inch baking dish and top with cheese if desired.

·         Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 30 to 45 minutes.

Tomato Pudding #2: And here’s another recipe, courtesy of the chef of Hominy Grill in Charleston, SC! This one uses canned tomatoes so can be used year round.

Tomato Pudding
From Robert Stehling, Hominy Grill and Chick’s Fry House, Charleston, South Carolina

Pay close attention to the order of the ingredients. Adding the butter to the bread before mixing the pudding helps give it that golden-brown, toasty flavor. Resist the temptation to add fresh herbs or tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

28 oz. canned whole tomatoes
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
3-4 slices white bread, cut into cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the canned tomatoes into a medium mixing bowl and break them up with a large spoon. You don’t need to crush them, but you should break them open. Pour the sugar on top of the tomatoes, followed by the bread. Douse the mixture in melted butter and season with salt and black pepper. Do not stir the ingredients. Pour them directly into a buttered casserole dish and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.