This is a delicious casserole-type dish that you prepare ahead of time and just pop into the oven the next day. Nothing could be easier! We made this for brunch on Easter, and everyone raved. Gooey cheese and savory ham---YUM!
I've got the whole recipe for you, step by step, after the jump!
One last reminder that this is a dish that must be prepared well in advance. This isn't the kind of thing that you make on the spur of the moment when you have only an hour or so to make dinner.
The tools:
- An oven and stove
- A large oven-safe casserole dish
- A cutting board
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- A clean tea towel
- Assorted bowls or plates
- A whisk
- Assorted knives: serrated for bread, chef's knife for chopping
- A box grater (if your cheese isn't pre-grated)
- A large skillet
- Two large mixing bowls
- A large spoon
- A ladle
- A cooking thermometer
- Plastic wrap
The ingredients:
- 10 oz. thawed frozen spinach**
- 1 1/2 cups diced onions
- 3 tbsp butter***
- 2 cups diced ham****
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 loaf French bread, which makes: 8 cups French bread cubes****
- 3 cups grated Swiss and Parmesan cheese*****
- 2 3/4 cups milk
- 9 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
**If you can get frozen chopped spinach, I recommend that. It saves you some work!
***I've found that unsalted tends to work best, but if you're using salted butter, then cut the the 1 tsp of salt down to 1/2 tsp.
****You'll want to dice these into about 1-inch cubes.
*****This is where it gets a little tricky. You'll want both kinds to provide different flavors notes, given that the Swiss is sort of mild and the Parmesan has a bit more of a tang. Use whatever brand you'd like (My mother likes Gruyere, but that can get kind of expensive), and adjust the ratios to whatever you'd like a little more of. I used 2 cups Swiss and 1 cup Parmesan, but feel free to mix it up!)
How to make it:
- Once your spinach is thawed, drain it thoroughly. I suggest putting it in a tea towel and then wringing it to get the water out. If it isn't pre-chopped, do that once it's finished draining.
- Heat a large skillet and saute the onions and butter together until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Add the spinach, salt, and pepper and stir to combine them with the onions. Remove the pan from the heat once you're finished.
- Mix the cheeses together in a bowl.
- Slice the French bread into 1-inch cubes. Do the same to the ham.
- Get out your extra bowls or plates and divide each of the following in thirds: the cheese, the spinach, the ham, and the bread. You don't have to weight them exactly, you can just kind of eyeball it. (You should have three bowls of cheese, three bowls of ham cubes, etc.)
- Grease your baking dish and then begin layering the ingredients. Place the 1/3 of the bread first, then the same amount of the spinach, ham, and cheese. Repeat the layering two more times, until they are all gone.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, mustard, and eggs. (I recommend putting the eggs in one at a time and whisking them after each addition.)
- Using the ladle, pour the egg mixture over the strata, then wrap the dish with plastic wrap and set in the fridge.
- Let the unbaked strata sit for about 8-24 hours (No longer than 24 hours, please!)
- Once it's time to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for roughly 45 minutes to an hour. You want it to be puffy and golden brown. Use your thermometer to make sure it's at least 165 degrees internally.
- Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
