A Breakfast Strata for Frugal Fridays

If you’ve never tried a strata before, you should seriously consider making this one.  “Strata” means layers in Italian, and it is a great brunch/breakfast dish for two main reasons:  (1) you put it together the night before, saving you time in the kitchen the following morning, and (2) people love a good one.  I like fritatas, but I often find them to be very dry.  Not so with a strata, which you can doctor up to suit your family’s tastes.  Stratas are also a great way to use up odds and ends in your refrigerator, like little bits of cream, milk, or cheese, and are thus perfect for Frugal Fridays, wherein I use up the aforementioned odds and ends so that they don’t go to waste.

I’ve made a variation of this strata several times, and get rave reviews, as well as requests for the recipe.  I leave out the goat cheese, and add roasted bell peppers.  I use whatever combination of milk, cream, or half-and-half (light cream) that I happen to have around.  The two critical elements in this recipe, in my opinion, are a decent bread (I prefer an egg bread like brioche or challah), and the fresh basil.  I also add some fresh thyme, and Tabasco®, to which I seem to have formed an addiction.  You can find the recipe after the jump, and if you want to join me for Frugal Fridays, here’s what you have to do!

Prosciutto and Cheese Strata

• 18 slices firm white bread (such as English muffin bread, challah, or brioche)
• 3 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced (I use just enough to make one layer)
• 4 ounces provolone, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 6 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
• 2 roasted red peppers, peeled and sliced into one inch strips (you can use jarred – you need enough to cover one layer)

• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups whole milk (or any combination of dairy)
• a few dashes of Tabasco® (a hot sauce)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted (I forgot to include this once, so I just drizzled some olive oil on top and it turned out great)

Grease and then line bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish completely with 1 layer of bread, cutting some slices to fit. Arrange a layer of prosciutto evenly over bread. Sprinkle half of the provolone over. Sprinkle with half of green onions and half of basil. Layer on the red peppers.  Top with second layer of bread. Layer remaining green onions, and basil atop bread.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in bowl. Season with pepper. Pour egg mixture over strata; press down on bread with spatula. Drizzle melted butter (or olive oil) over strata. Cover and refrigerate overnight. I like to press down on the mixture, then put a weight on it (like a can), so that the custard really soaks in.

Remove strata from the refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature for 45-60 minutes.  Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350°F. Cover strata with foil, but make sure the foil is NOT touching the surface or all the cheese will stick to it.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil cover, and bake until center is set, another 30 minutes or about 1 hour. DO NOT OVERBAKE, OR IT WILL BE DRY.  You really do not need to have it in the oven more than an hour.  Remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Place strata under broiler until top is golden, about 30 seconds. Cut into large squares and serve.