Sunday Brunch: Spinach and Gruyère Strata

Name: Sunday Brunch: Spinach and Gruyère Strata
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 6 larges eggs; 355 milliliters ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (Havarti, sharp cheddar, and Colby are also good); 414 milliliters half-and-half; 227 grams 1/2 loaf French or Italian bread , cut into 1/2 inch thick slices; supermarket bread is fine; 6 servings Pepper; 6 servings Salt; 4 smalls shallots or 1 small onion, minced; 283 grams package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry; 4 Tbsps unsalted butter, softened

You can never have too many main course recipes, so give Sunday Brunch: Spinach and Gruyère Stratan a try. One serving contains 592 calories, 22g of protein, and 44g of fat. This recipe serves 6. If you have spinach, butter, pepper, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it. To use up the pepper you could follow this main course with the Easy Peppermint Dessert as a dessert. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes approximately 45 minutes.

Instructions

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat.

Ingredients you will need

Butter

Equipment you will use

Frying Pan

Add the shallots or onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook until the spinach is heated through, about 2 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Shallot

Spinach

Onion

Pepper

Salt

Grease an 8-inch-square baking dish with butter. (I used an 8 x 11 inch baking dish and filled it up completely, but it had short sides--only about an inch.) Arrange half of the bread, buttered-side up, in a single layer in the dish. Scatter half of the spinach mixture and 1/2 cup of the cheese over the bread. Repeat, making another layer of bread, spinach, and cheese.

Ingredients you will need

Spinach

Butter

Cheese

Bread

Equipment you will use

Baking Pan

Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth.

Ingredients you will need

Pepper

Egg

Salt

Equipment you will use

Whisk

Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the layered bread, spinach, and cheese. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and put a 2-pound bag of sugar on top to weigh it down. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Ingredients you will need

Spinach

Cheese

Bread

Sugar

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Plastic Wrap

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Allow the strata to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking. When ready to bake, remove the sugar weight, remove the plastic wrap, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the top.

Ingredients you will need

Cheese

Sugar

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Plastic Wrap

Oven

Bake until both the edges and center are puffed and the edges have pulled away slightly from the sides of the dish, 50 to 55 minutes. (The center of my strata never really puffed, so I removed it when the edges pulled away from the sides of the dish.) Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes before serving.

Equipment you will use

Wire Rack