Sabbath rest Saturdays have become a new tradition for me. One day a week, I have a “me” day. No chores get done. No work gets done. No cooking is done, either. I sleep in. Sometimes I even take a nap in the afternoon.
I know. I’m a party animal.
Friday nights are now spent tidying up the house, preparing for my big day. I even make a dish that will perform well as leftovers to carry us through Saturday lunch and dinner. So far it’s been really great, and this past weekend I even decided I’d make a breakfast that would handle the same type of idea.
Enter the strata.
Like “Enter the Dragon”, but cheesier.
Cook’s Illustrated actually introduced strata to me. I had never heard of it until I started cooking through their “2008 Holiday Baking” booklet for the AwK monthly segment. The breakfast dish features a layer of toast with other fillings and cheese, then the layer is repeated. On top, smother the entire dish with egg, milk and sometimes with a reduced white wine. The dish sits and soaks, then is later baked. If you want to see a photo step by step process, you can find it on AwK here, from the Breakfast Strata with Sausage, Mushrooms and Monterey Jack post.
Friday night, I assembled my strata. The dish was very simple and I was able to organize it while my dinner baked in the oven. Normally you’re supposed to totally compact the dish down with weights, but I couldn’t because my plastic wrap wasn’t tight enough to keep the egg from spilling out. Instead, I covered it as best I could and placed one box of chicken broth in the center. Good enough for government work. Then I stuck it in the fridge overnight. The next morning I threw it in the oven to bake…
50 minutes later I had a fluffy egg, cheese and spinach breakfast that fluffed up in the oven beautifully. The toast gives it lots of great structure. Cut into squares and serve.
On Sunday morning, I wrapped the leftovers loosely in foil and baked it in my toaster oven for 15 minutes to warm up. What a fantastic little breakfast. Highly recommend!!!
Breakfast Strata with Spinach & Gruyère
Courtesy of Cook’s Illustrated
Serves 4
8 – 10 slices supermarket French bread (1/2-inch thick) or Italian bread (6 – 7 ounces)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 medium shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach , thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup medium-dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
6 large eggs
1 3/4 cups half-and-half or milk
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange bread in single layer on large baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp, about 40 minutes, turning slices over halfway through drying time. (Alternatively, leave slices out overnight to dry.) When cooled, butter slices on one side with 2 tablespoons butter; set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Sauté shallots until fragrant and translucent, about 3 minutes; add spinach and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach and shallots are combined, about 2 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; set aside. Add wine to skillet, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes; set aside.
Butter 8-inch square baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon butter; arrange half the buttered bread slices, buttered-side up, in single layer in dish. Sprinkle half of spinach mixture, then 1/2 cup grated cheese evenly over bread slices. Arrange remaining bread slices in single layer over cheese; sprinkle remaining spinach mixture and another 1/2 cup cheese evenly over bread. Whisk eggs in medium bowl until combined; whisk in reduced wine, half-and-half, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread layers; cover surface flush with plastic wrap, weigh down (see note, above), and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Remove dish from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature 20 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Uncover strata and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese evenly over surface; bake until both edges and center are puffed and edges have pulled away slightly from sides of dish, 50 to 55 minutes (or about 60 minutes for doubled recipe). Cool on wire rack 5 minutes; serve.