Strata
This delicious dish is made with hearty artisan style bread, fresh spinach and bell pepper, flavorful ham, bold cheddar cheese, and a rich egg custard. All together in one! What’s not to love? A strata is an American brunch casserole dish made up of layered pieces of bread, meat or vegetables, often cheese, and it’s all soaked in an egg and milk mixture. It’s oven baked until cooked through and set, and then cut into squares and served warm.
It’s something like a savory French toast, with mix-ins! I love this for a change because a lot of breakfast foods are sweet, or coated in something sweet. Like pancakes, pastries, scones, waffles, muffins, and French toast. But it’s great to have a more savory option like this strata. It’s so convenient that you can make this the night before you want to serve it, pop it in the oven in the morning and have an easy, hot breakfast ready to serve! An overnight casserole that’s great for holidays and weekends. It also makes a great dinner and leftovers for lunch too. So much deliciousness in every layered bite!
Ingredients:
- 8 large eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 1/4 cups chopped red bell pepper
- 6 oz. spinach (6 cups packed)
- 2 cups chopped ham
- 3 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 12 oz. hearty Italian bread, or French Bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (8 cups)
- 1 1/4 cups sharp white cheddar