Last weekend, when we all got together to carve our pumpkins we started with a family breakfast so that we could all get energized before the competition.
Kara and I wanted to try a strata. I began scouring the blogs for recipes and every strata recipe I saw was linked back to this one so I knew it had to be the best. This recipe was perfect for us because we made it on Saturday and cooked it on Sunday, leaving barely any work for us that morning.
The strata was delicious. I will definitely be making it again for company, all you need to do is pop it in the oven. It’s filling and tasty!
Here’s what you’ll need
Cook the shallot
Add in the spinach
Mix the eggs and milk
Start layering: bread cubes, spinach and onion…
Cheese
Should look like this 🙂
Finally pour in the egg mixture
The perfect breakfast to serve for company
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
1 ½ cups finely chopped shallot
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt, divided
½ teaspoon pepper, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
8 cups cubed French or Italian bread in 1-inch cubes
6 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)
2 ounces finely grated parmesan (1 cup)
2 ¾ cups milk
9 large eggs
Directions
Sauté shallot in butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking for one minute. Stir in spinach, remove from heat and set aside.
Spread one third of the bread cubes in a well-buttered 3-quart baking dish. Top with one-third of spinach mixture and one-third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach and cheese.
Whisk eggs, milk and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for at least 8 hours, or up to a day.
The next day, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen
