Here's a lovely recipe that's a perfect complement to both lamb and ham, common items on the Easter dinner table.

You do have to think ahead; the bread used in the pudding should be 1-2 days old. Sawing through slightly stale artisan bread, however, can wield a nasty cut, so I prefer cutting the bread into cubes after purchasing it, then returned it to its original bag for 24 hours.

Any mushrooms will do, but wild mushrooms yield more of a flavor kick than their brother buttons. Or to tone things down, substitute Swiss cheese for unctuous Gruyere.

Active Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 45-50 minutes
Number of servings (yield): 6-8

Ingredients

3 cups whole milk
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 (1 pound) loaf day-old sourdough or other crusty bread, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound asparagus, tough ends removed, rinsed and cut into 1-inch pieces*
6 ounces assorted fresh mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
Cooking oil, cooking oil spray or butter for greasing pan and foil
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together milk, stock, eggs, dill, garlic,1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Toss bread cubes into mixture and let saturate all sides of bread cubes. Fold asparagus and mushrooms into the mixture and spread vegetables throughout.
3. Spoon bread mixture into a well-oiled 9x13-inch baking dish or casserole and, with a spatula, pack down. Evenly sprinkle with grated cheese. Cover with a piece of oiled foil, oiled side lightly covering cheese, and place on middle rack of oven. Bake 30 minutes, remove foil, then continue baking until top is golden brown and there is no liquid in the center, 15-20 additional minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

*I separate the tips from the stem pieces and use the attractive tips to top the casserole.

Peggy Lampman is a real-time food writer and photographer posting daily feeds on her website and in the Food & Grocery section of Annarbor.com. You may also e-mail her at peggy@dinnerfeed.com.