6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 small lasagna pan’s worth corn bread
2 tablespoons butter (more as needed)
1 cup sliced chorizo sausage
1/3 cup sliced kalamata olives
3 cups milk
6 whole eggs
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lightly grease or brush a 7-by-11-inch baking dish with a little butter, set aside. Cut the corn bread into half-inch-thick slices and cut those pieces in half. Heat 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a heavy skillet and sauté the onions and chorizo sausage. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat— add olives and sage and set aside. Scatter two-thirds of the olive/chorizo mixture over the bottom of the baking dish. Place the corn bread over the mixture in neat rows. Arrange the pieces so they overlap slightly, giving a shingled effect. Mix the milk and eggs together with salt and pepper and whisk vigorously to make a smooth custard. Gently pour the custard over the corn bread. Let sit for 30 minutes, occasionally pushing down on the bread so that it absorbs as much custard as possible.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sprinkle the remaining chorizo/olive mixture over the top of the corn bread and bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and dry. If the pudding is set, but the top is not yet golden brown, remove the pudding from the oven and turn it up to 450 degrees. When the oven is hot, put the pudding back in until it turns golden brown. Allow the pudding to rest for at least 15 minutes. Cut into squares, using the rows of corn bread as a guide. Serves 6.
