This is ideal for a brunch party, makes a great breakfast dish, side dish and dinner as well. It can be assembled the night before so all that’s left to do is bake it the next day.
Serves: 8
500g country-style white bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
6 -8 roasted red capsicums
2 red chilies
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 cup heavy cream
180g bacon, finely chopped
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 large eggs
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 210°C. Toss bread and ¼ cup oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt. Toast until croutons are deep brown and crisp, 15–20 minutes. Let cool.
Meanwhile, pulse red peppers, chilies, paprika, and ¼ cup oil in a food processor. Transfer pepper purée to a large bowl; stir in cream and season with salt. Add croutons and toss until evenly coated.
Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until brown and crisp, 4–6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to crouton mixture, leaving rendered fat in skillet. Add onion to skillet and cook, stirring, until soft, 7–10 minutes. Add garlic, season with salt, and continue to cook, stirring, until garlic has softened, 1–2 minutes.
Transfer crouton mixture to a 30m x 20cm baking dish, pressing down on bread to submerge in sauce; scatter onion mixture over. Cover with foil and chill at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Preheat oven to 220°C. Bake casserole, uncovered, until top is golden brown, 35–45 minutes. Make 6 wells on surface of casserole with a large spoon and crack eggs into each well; season with salt. Bake again until whites are set but yolks are still runny, 10–12 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then top with parsley.
Recipe originally from Bon Appétit and Delicious Magazine, February 22nd 2016 by Andy Baraghani