Mushroom And Spinach Strata

This strata is a great one-dish meal that can be made ahead of time. It can be assembled the previous night itself and just popped into the oven the next morning in time for breakfast or brunch. I’ve made this a couple of times now since I first heard of it a few years back.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cubed bread
• 1 cup cheese ((I used a mixture of Parmesan and Cheddar this time)
• 1-2 Tbsp oil
• 1 cup scallions
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
• Red pepper flakes
• Salt
• Pepper
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 3 cups spinach, chopped

For the custard:

• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups milk
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Grease your baking dish of choice. I used 2 small baking dishes here, but an 8 x 8-inch baking dish would also work just fine. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cube some leftover bread. Italian bread would be perfect for this but use whatever you have. I used 4 slices of leftover sandwich bread that I toasted first.

In a skillet, add the oil and sauté the scallions. Add the crushed garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

To this add the chopped mushrooms and cook till the water evaporates.

Next, add the chopped spinach. Cook till the spinach wilts down and the mixture is almost dry.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

Layer the bread cubes at the bottom of the baking dish. Pour half the custard over it. Press down the bread with the back of a spoon if required so that it soaks up the custard well. Sprinkle half the cheese over this.

Stir the cooked vegetable mixture into the rest of the custard and then add to the layers in the baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top forms a nice golden brown crust. Serve hot.