Italian Baked Strata
January 3, 2011
I absolutely love breakfast stratas! They're easy dishes you "make-ahead" (aka - perfect for brunches), but best of all at the Smithton Inn is that stratas are a delicious way for us to use our day-old homemade Italian Herb bread.
I'm also a big fan of Pesto, which is probably why I was drawn to this particular recipe (which I adapted from a quiche). If you're wondering what the pesto will make the dish LOOK like, never fear... it will NOT look like you're eating 'Green Eggs'... as you can see from the photo. Enjoy!!
Pesto, Provolone & Red Pepper Strata
Ingredients:
8 slices Italian Herb Bread (or bread of your choice)
3 tablespoons pesto
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded Provolone cheese (8 oz)
1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper
8 slices Italian Herb Bread (or bread of your choice)
3 tablespoons pesto
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded Provolone cheese (8 oz)
1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper
Directions:
- Pre-Heat oven to 375°F
- Cut bread into 1 inch cubes, set aside.
- In medium bowl, mix pesto, Parmesan cheese, eggs, milk and salt until completely blended.
- Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with Pam
- Add half the bread to the bottom of the baking dish (enough to cover the bottom). Top with half the roasted red bell peppers and then half the Provolone cheese. Repeat with remaining bread, peppers & cheese.
- Pour blended egg mixture over top, making sure to moisten all the bread.
- Cover with foil, refrigerate overnight (can be frozen at this stage)
- With foil in place, bake strata 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook 30 minutes longer or until the egg is completely set (if top becomes too brown, put the foil back on). Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Variations: Replace red peppers with cherry tomatoes, asparagus or mushrooms. And/Or, add a meat to your layers such as sausage, chicken sausage or bacon.
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