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Toasty Holiday Strata

Source of Recipe

From "The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook" by Lisa Steele


Recipe Introduction

"The versatile strata is one of many recipes that helps you use up leftovers. You'll need bread, lots of eggs, milk, some cheese, and cooked meat, such as pork, ham, pork, turkey, chicken, or ground beef. Don't eat meat? Then substitute some leftover cooked vegetables instead. Strata is also a wonderful holiday dish for entertaining because you can assemble it the night before—it's better if you let the bread soak overnight—then pop it into the oven the next day before your guests arrive. If desired, garnish your strata with fresh herbs from your garden."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ Butter for greasing the pan
â—¦ 4 cups cubed bread
â—¦ ½ cup chopped cooked meat
â—¦ ½ cup minced shallots, scallions, or onions
â—¦ 2 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (8 ounces), divided
â—¦ 8 eggs
â—¦ 2 cups milk
â—¦ ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
â—¦ Kosher salt
â—¦ Black pepper
â—¦ Minced chives, chopped green onions, or chopped fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, basil, or sage) for garnish


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use butter to grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Add the bread cubes and place the dish in the oven while it's preheating. Bake the bread cubes for 7 to 8 minutes until they're slightly toasted. Top with the meat, shallots, garlic, and 1 ¾ cups of the cheese.

In a medium-sized bowl whisk the eggs and milk and season generously with the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour the eggs over the bread cubes and use a spoon or rubber spatula to fully submerge them in the liquid. Then let the dish rest for at least 30 minutes to make sure the bread soaks up lots of eggy liquid, or cover the dish in aluminum foil and refrigerate it overnight. If you refrigerate your strata, bring it to room temperature for about half an hour before baking.

Bake the strata for 20 minutes covered in aluminum foil, then sprinkle the reserved ¼ cup cheese over the top and bake it uncovered for another 15 minutes, until the middle is set and the top is golden brown and crispy. Remove the strata from the oven and let it cool slightly before cutting it into squares and garnishing with chives, green onions, or fresh herbs.

Makes 6 servings