Ideally suited for an easy-going brunch, stratas benefit from being made up to a day ahead so the egg can thoroughly soak into the bread. We’ve used sausage in the recipe below, but you can make it with ham instead: simply brown 8 ounces of chopped ham steak in a little oil in place of the sausage.
Ideally suited for an easy-going brunch, stratas benefit from being made up to a day ahead so the egg can thoroughly soak into the bread.
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
Butter
Dried basil
eggs
fresh thyme
freshly ground black pepper
garlic cloves
minced
milk
olive oil
onion
thinly sliced
red bell pepper
thinly sliced
Salt
sharp cheddar cheese
shredded
sourdough baguette
cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
sweet Italian sausage
Directions
DIRECTIONS
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the oil to the skillet
Butter an 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Place a single layer of the bread on the bottom
Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until well combined. Slowly pour the mixture over the top layer of bread. Cover with plastic wrap and place heavy objects (e.g. food cans) on top to weigh it down. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°
Remove the baking dish from the refrigerator and uncover. Bake until the strata is puffed and browned and the eggs are set, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven let cool 5 minutes before cutting into serving pieces.
