Strata with Spinach and Gruyère

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Strata with Spinach and Gruyère
Recipe Overview
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Strata with Spinach and Gruyere
Strata – basically a savory bread pudding–is too often soggy and laden with excessive custard and ingredients, rendering a simple casserole an overindulgence in both preparation and consumption. We felt that the perfect strata for breakfast or brunch should contain complementary fillings and flavorings, and just enough richness to satisfy.

The solution was to start with the right bread–a thin-crusted supermarket loaf of French or Italian bread beat out sturdier artisan loaves. These softer breads (sold in the bakery department at most supermarkets) soaked up the custard evenly, and were more pleasant to eat when served. With the added step of staling or toasting the bread, we drove off more moisture, and ensured the bread stayed intact. (Note that if your bread is already stale, you can skip this toasting step.)

For the savory spinach and shallot filling, we started by squeezing thawed, frozen spinach to remove much of its liquid, then sautéed the vegetables to continue driving off moisture and building deeper flavor. The addition of white wine, reduced down in a skillet to concentrate its jammy flavor and rid it of any boozy bite, added a welcome brightness to an otherwise heavy dish.

After layering in the components and weighing the dish down to compact the disparate ingredients into a more cohesive dish, the strata needed to be refrigerated for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. The next day, after a short 20-minute stint on the counter, all the work left to do was bake the strata until the top was lightly golden brown.


Total Cooking Time: 10 hours, 30 minutes

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Active Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Make Ahead: Can be made up to 24 hours in advance

Yield: Serves 8 to 10

Difficulty: Intermediate

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Ingredients

  • 10 30 10 hours, 30 minutes
  • 10 Time: 10 minutes
  • 40 Cooking Time: 40 minutes
  • 8 to 10 to 10
  • to 24 Can be made up to 24 hours in advance
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • 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.
  • Tools
  • Bread knife
  • Chef’s knife
  • Cutting board
  • Kitchen towel *
  • Dry measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Liquid measuring cup
  • Box Box grater * *
  • Rimmed baking sheets (2)
  • Cooling rack
  • Tongs
  • Wire rack
  • Medium Medium nonstick skillet * * *
  • 13 13 9-inch by 9-inch baking dish
  • Whisk
  • Large Large bowl
  • Plastic wrap
  • to important the spinach be as dry as possible so it doesn’t thin out the custard. Our favorite method is to wring the spinach out with our hands, then wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and wring out any remaining liquid.
  • 12 The large holes of a box grater are perfect for quickly shredding 12 ounces of cheese.
  • Sauteing the savory vegetables in a skillet drives off excess liquid that would otherwise make the strata soggy in texture, and dull in flavor.

Preparation

Step 1

Instructions

strata
1. Adjust 2 oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Slice bread into ½ inch slices.
3. Spread bread out over 2 baking sheets.
4. Bake until dry and light golden brown, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time.
5. While bread toasts, mince 2 large shallots. (You should have ½ cup.)
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.
7. Shred 12 ounces Gruyère cheese. (You should have about 3 cups.) Set aside.
8. Once bread is dry and light golden brown, transfer pan to cooling rack and let bread cool completely.
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.
12. Transfer to medium bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
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.
14. Once bread has completely cooled, spread softened butter evenly over 1 side of each bread slice, using 4 tablespoons of butter.
15. Butter 13 by 9-inch baking dish.
16. Tightly fit half of bread slices, buttered side up, into single layer in dish.
17. Sprinkle half of spinach mixture over top.
18. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese evenly over bread slices.
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.
23. Wrap strata tightly with plastic wrap, pressing wrap flush to surface of strata.
24. Weight strata down by placing three, 1-pound boxes of brown or confectioners’ sugar on top of plastic wrap.
25. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
26. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
27. Meanwhile, unwrap strata and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
28. Bake strata, uncovered, until puffed and edges have pulled away slightly from sides of the dish, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
29. Cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

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