Puttin' the PUDIN in Vegan

Special gracias to my guest Vegan Chef Terry Hope Romero. Here is a tasty and delicioso vegan dessert recipe she's sharing with all our Wine Country con Sabor!/KVON listeners.  It's from her new cookbook, VIVA VEGAN! 200 Authentic and Fabulous Recipes for Latin Food Lovers. Pick-up the book or check out her website - veganlatina.com for more info and recipes.

FRESH MANGO AND GUAVA BREAD PUDIN
• Serves 6 to 8 • Time: About 1 hour

Bread pudding gets a lot of love in Latin America. Latin bread pudding is dense and firm enough to hold its own shape like a slice of cake, while being as sweet as a smile. This Caribbean-inspired version has strips of aromatic guava paste and slices of fresh mango baked into the top crust. I love pudÌn served warm with a scoop of ice cream, but if you find yourself eating spoonfuls straight from the fridge, that’s just as well, too.

Tip: Guava paste is a chewy, ultrasweet fruity confection made from guavas and sugar cooked down forever. It comes in round tins or blocks, sometimes wrapped in dried banana leaf (look for bocadillos of paste). Guava paste sometimes includes milk caramel (you’ll see tan layers in the paste), so read the ingredients to make sure it’s completely cowless. For easier slicing,
try chilling guava paste first.

1 pound day-old good-quality vegan white bread, cut or torn into small chunks
2⁄3 cup granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup light brown sugar
1⁄2 cup dark raisins
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
31⁄2 cups soy milk or favorite rich nondairy milk
1 (3 by 1-inch) strip lemon or orange zest
3 tablespoons nonhydrogenated vegan margarine
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons dark or spiced rum
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 ounces guava paste, sliced into thin strips
1 large ripe mango

1. Lightly grease a 9 by 11 by 2-inch baking pan. Place the bread pieces in a large mixing bowl. Add the granulated and light brown sugar, raisins, and cinnamon, and toss together. Set aside 1/2 cup of the soy milk in a measuring cup and pour the remaining 3 cups of soy milk into a large saucepan. Add the orange zest and, over medium heat, simmer the milk for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the margarine and stir to melt. Remove the orange zest and pour the hot soy milk over the bread mixture. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, fold the ingredients to completely moisten the bread. Set the mixture aside and let it cool for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The bread will fall completely apart and will be very mushy and wet. While the bread mixture is cooling, preheat the oven to 375_F.

2. Into the remaining 1/2 cup of soy milk in the measuring cup, whisk the cornstarch, rum, and vanilla until smooth. Pour onto bread mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour into the prepared baking pan and top with strips of guava paste and strips of mango, poking them partially into the
pudding. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned; the guava paste will melt and bubble and the mango will brown. A knife inserted into the center of the pudding should come out mostly clean (a few sticky crumbs are okay). The pudding will be like molten lava right out of the oven, so let it cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Buen Provecho!