Recipe
Baked Egg Strata
Time: about 1 hour, plus overnight
Yield: one 13x9" baking dish
| Butter 12 slices of robust bread, cut ½" thick and divided into quarters, |
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| divided 3 cups of finely grated cheese, divided (see notes) 6 eggs 2¾ cups whole milk 2 teaspoons salt |
Pepper to taste 1 yellow onion, diced 8 ounces of bacon, diced 1 green pepper, diced 3 ounces of mushrooms, sliced |
The night before, grease a 13x9" baking dish with butter.
Use some of the quartered bread slices to create a single layer on the bottom. Sprinkle some of the grated cheese over the bread, forming the next layer.
Repeat the layering, ending with a cheese layer on top.
Pour the egg mixture over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The day of baking, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove the pan from the refrigerator one hour before baking.
Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat. As the fat renders, add the diced onions. Once the onions soften (about 3 minutes), add the green pepper and mushrooms and cook until softened. Remove from heat.
Spread the bacon mixture on top of the cheese layer in the pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
Notes
For the cheese, the most basic approach is to use all sharp cheddar. However, you may substitute up to 2 cups of the cheddar with other cheeses, such as fontina or gruyere. I would not recommend very pungent cheeses like blue.
Adapted from Diane Libbey’s Baked Egg Souffle recipe, a Thanksgiving morning tradition