- 8
Ingredients
- 18 18 slices 18 (1/2-inch-thick) slices supermarket French or Italian bread *
- 7 7 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter , at room temperature * *
- 2 2 2 Large shallots
- 2 2 packages 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach , thawed
- salt
- ground black pepper
- 1 1 1 Cup dry white wine or vermouth
- 12 12 12 Ounces Gruyère cheese * * *
- 12 12 12 Large eggs
- 3 1/2 3 1/2 1/2 Cups half-and-half
- to will also need a bit of extra butter to grease the baking pan.
- to free to substitute any good melting cheese, such as Havarti, sharp cheddar, or colby.
Preparation
Step 1
1. Adjust 2 oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees.
6. Place 2 (10-ounce) packages thawed frozen spinach on clean kitchen towel, roll up, and tightly squeeze over bowl or sink until spinach feels dry.
9. Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.
10. Add minced shallots and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
11. Stir in spinach and cook until warm, about 2 minutes.
13. Add 1 cup wine to skillet and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to ½ cup, about 5 minutes; set aside to cool.
17. Sprinkle half of spinach mixture over top.
19. Repeat with remaining bread slices, spinach mixture, and 1 more cup of cheese.
20. Whisk 12 large eggs in a large bowl until combined.
21. Whisk in reduced wine, 3½ cups half-and-half, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
22. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread layers, and sprinkle remaining 1 cup cheese evenly over top.
26. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
Make Ahead: Can be made up to 24 hours in advance
*
You will need between 16 and 20 pieces of bread. Be sure to use supermarket-style loaf bread with a thin crust and fluffy crumb; artisan loaves with a thick crust and chewy crumb don’t work well here. You will be toasting the bread in one of the first steps of the recipe, but if your bread is already stale, you can skip this step.