Chef Braulio Delatorre introduces us to the new spring menu at Morton’s The Steakhouse

Mmmmm…. bread pudding! Chef Braulio Delatorre, of Morton’s The Steakhouse, serves up a slice of bread pudding that is absolute perfection, along with one of their famous steaks and yummy salad!

Here are today’s recipes!

Honey Poppy Seed Dressing   Makes 2 ½ cups

Mayonnaise                                                       2 cups

Honey                                                                   ¼ cup

White Balsamic vinegar                                 3 ounces

Poppy seeds                                                      ¾ tsp.

Minced garlic                                                     1/8 tsp.

Salt                                                                         to taste

Ground black pepper                                     to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk. Transfer to a storage container and refrigerate until needed.

Hearts of Palm Salad with Mangoes and Arugula   4 portions

Toasted sliced almonds                                 ¼ cup

Hearts of Palm, sliced on the Bias             2 cups

Mango, peeled, sliced thin                          2 cups

Baby Arugula                                                     12 cups

Honey Poppy seed dressing                        ½ cup

Salt                                                                         pinch

Ground white pepper                                    pinch

Minced fresh chives                                       4 tsp.

Seedless Watermelon                                   20, 1 x 1 cubes

Place the Arugula, Hearts of Palm and Mango slices into a mixing bowl. Add the dressing and toss until everything is evenly coated. (More dressing can be added to your taste.)

Evenly divide the salad onto 4 cold plates, being careful to evenly distribute the ingredients between each plate. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Sprinkle the toasted almonds and minced chives over the salads.

Garnish the edges of the salad with 5 cubes of watermelon evenly spaced on each salad. Serve immediately.Blueberry White Chocolate Bread pudding

Bourbon White chocolate Ganache   enough for 8 portions

White Chocolate chips                                   1 cup

Heavy cream                                                      ¾ cup

Bourbon                                                              ½ cup

Place the chocolate and bourbon in a mixing bowl over a double boiler. Melt the chocolate and whisk them together until smooth. Remove the mixing bowl from the double boiler. Pour in the cold heavy cream and whisk together until smooth. Pour the sauce into a squeeze bottle and hold at room temperature until needed.

Blueberry White Chocolate Bread Pudding     8 portions

Heavy cream                                                      4 ½ cups

Whole eggs, large                                            9 each

White granulated sugar                                 2 cups

Light brown sugar                                            2 cups

Vanilla extract                                                   3 tsp.

White bread, unsliced                                    approx. 3 lbs. (approx. 1 ½ loaves)

White chocolate chips                                    1 cup

Fresh blueberries                                            2 cups

Non-stick spray                                                 to coat pan

Hot water

In a mixing bowl, place the heavy cream, eggs, both sugars and the vanilla extract. Mix with a wire whip until well mixed and sugars have completely dissolved.

In another mixing bowl, tear the bread into 2 – 3 inch pieces. Pour the cream mixture over the bread and gently fold it in. Be careful not to break up the bread too much. Add 1/2 cup of the Chocolate chips and 1 cup of blueberries. Fold those in. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes and then fold again. (The mixture should be very moist. If not, add a little more cream.)

Spray the inside of a 4 inch deep, 9 x 12 stainless steel pan. Pour the pudding mixture into the pan. Spread the rest of the chocolate chips and blueberries evenly over the pudding. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. In a deeper pan, place about 1 inch of hot water. Place the pan with the pudding into the deeper pan with the water. Place the pans in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake for approx. 3 hours or until the center is firm. Let the bread pudding cool for a while before serving. (If it is too hot, it may break apart when trying to remove portions from the pan. If it has cooled too much, wrap the portions in plastic and mircowave until hot. This can be done the day before.)

To serve, cut around the edges to loosen the pudding from the pan. Cut the pudding into the desired serving size. Using a squared off spatula. Lift the portions out of the pan and plate them. Place the melba sauce and white chocolate ganache over the portions. Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the plate and garnish with a few fresh blueberries.

To learn more, visit www.mortons.com/indianapolis.