No matter what you call it, this Mediterranean Strata is a simple, yet elegant, dish. Bread, milk, eggs, veggies, and cheese come together easily in an egg casserole you can serve for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.
It’s great hot out of the oven, cold in your packed lunch, or reheated in the magic box we call a microwave.
Thanks to an impulse purchase at the grocery store, this Mediterranean strata was born from necessity and my aversion to food waste.
You see, I just had to buy this cute baguette I saw – despite the gazillion other carb/bread options already in my house.
I was going to make a Caesar salad! With homemade croutons! The killer kind like my friend Joe taught me. You cube up the bread, then pan fry the cubes in the skillet with garlic and oil and a splash of water and a bit of salt. They’re somehow both crusty and chewy, and hands down, the best part of any salad, any where.
But I forgot about the baguette, my grand croutonian plans, about suppers altogether for a few days. (It was a weird week.)
Next thing I know? That bread is rock hard – a perfectly preserved, petrified version of itself.
I wasn’t about to be bested by a baguette.
An egg strata is a great way to use up bread, even stale bread!
So, I cubed the bread up using a large bread knife – the kind with teeth – and a vigorous sawing motion. I can’t emphasize enough how little I’m exaggerating here. It’s a good thing I’d practiced my sawing skills last month, hacking off the branches of an out-of-control bush that was taking over our lawn.
Perfect cubes, see? 🙂
Next, I whisked together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.
Finally I stirred in the spinach, tomatoes and feta. And the bread.
After a nice lengthy soak in the egg mixture, the bread cubes softened up just right. Fortunately, that’s a step you won’t need to take – unless your bread is really, really stale.
I baked it for about 45 minutes, till the bread cubes were dry on top and the egg mixture was set. Voila! A savory egg strata fit for any meal, any day.
Lord knows, I’ve eaten my weight in frittatas in the past few years. This Mediterranean strata was a nice change. It felt good to switch things up a little!
Mediterranean Strata (a Savory Bread Pudding)
A simple yet elegant egg strata featuring spinach, tomatoes, and feta cheese. Bread cubes add structure and texture to the dish, making it similar to a bread pudding.
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh snipped chives optional
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup baby spinach
- 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half diagonally
- 2 1/2 cups 1/2" bread cubes
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a 1.5 quart casserole dish with pan spray. Set aside.
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Whisk the eggs, milk, half and half, salt and pepper together in a large mixing bowl
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Stir in the chives, feta cheese, spinach, tomatoes, and bread cubes. Stir until everything is coated evenly.
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Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle the parmesan on top. Bake on rack in center of the oven for 40-45 minutes. The strata is done when the tops are dry and the egg mixture has fully set.
LOL I can remember my mother making something very much like this when I was a kid…She named it “egg in a mess”……