Vegetarian Egg Strata Recipes

SPINACH & CHEESE STRATA

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and drained spinach and cook 2 minutes more. Set aside.
• Butter a 3-quart or 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread one third of the bread cubes in the dish and top evenly with one third of spinach mixture. (Try to break it up as much as possible so there are no huge clumps of spinach.) Sprinkle with one third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice, ending with cheeses.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the half-and-half, mustard, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and whisk until well combined. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the strata. Cover the strata with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Bake the strata, uncovered, until puffed, set and golden brown all over top, 70-80 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving. It will settle a bit as it cools.
• Note: The cook time is based on the strata going immediately from the fridge to the oven. If it sits out at room temperature before baking, the cook time will be about 10 minutes less.

VEGETARIAN EGG STRATA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute zucchini, red pepper, mushrooms and onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper; saute 1 minute longer., In a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray, layer half the bread cubes, zucchini mixture, goat cheese and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers., In a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk and nutmeg. Pour over top. Cover and refrigerate overnight., Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake, uncovered, 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

ROASTED VEGETABLE STRATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Toss zucchini and peppers with oil and seasonings; transfer to a 15x10x1-in. pan. Roast until tender, 25-30 minutes, stirring once. Stir in tomato; cool slightly., Trim ends from bread; cut bread into 1-in. slices. In a greased 13x9-in. baking dish, layer half of each of the following: bread, roasted vegetables and cheeses. Repeat layers. Whisk together eggs and milk; pour evenly over top. Refrigerate, covered, 6 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. Remove casserole from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown, 40-50 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked casserole. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake casserole as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

SUNDAY VEGETARIAN STRATA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and stir in the vegetarian sausage. Cook and stir until the sausage is crumbly, and evenly browned. Stir in the onion, garlic, and bell pepper; cook and stir until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
• Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange bread in an even layer in the prepared baking dish. Scatter the sausage mixture on top. Brush with the Dijon mustard, and sprinkle with cheese. Whisk eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, and pour over the cheese. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove strata from the refrigerator, and unwrap.
• Bake in the preheated oven until puffed, lightly browned, and the center is set, 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

VEGETABLE STRATA

Steps:

• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the broccoli until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes; drain and set aside.
• Whisk together the half-and-half, Parmesan, eggs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl.
• Layer half of the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of the Monterey Jack, followed by the mushrooms, broccoli, scallions and tomatoes. Cover with the remaining bread cubes and pour the egg mixture evenly over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (This can also be assembled the day of; just let soak at room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.)
• On the day of baking, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Let the strata sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Remove the plastic and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Monterey Jack. Bake until slightly puffed and just no longer jiggly in the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

VEGETABLE AND CHEESE STRATA

Steps:

• In a large skillet cook the onion, the scallion, and the mushrooms in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, add the bell peppers and salt and pepper to taste, and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until all the liquid the mushrooms give off is evaporated and the peppers are tender. Arrange half the bread cubes in a buttered large shallow (4 1/2-quart) baking dish, spread half the vegetable mixture over them, and sprinkle half the Cheddar and half the Parmesan over the vegetables. Arrange the remaining bread cubes over the cheeses, top them with the remaining vegetables, and sprinkle the remaining cheeses over the top. In a bowl whisk together the eggs, the milk, the mustard, the Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste, pour the egg mixture evenly over the strata, and chill the strata, covered, overnight. Let the strata stand at room temperature for 15 minutes and bake it in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until it is puffed and golden and cooked through.

SPICY STRATA

Steps:

• Butter 8-by-8-inch baking dish and set aside. Heat butter over medium heat. When it foams, add scallions, and cook until just softened, about 1 minute. Add asparagus and cook until bright green and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes; remove from heat.
• Whisk eggs, half-and-half, salt, cumin, and pepper in a large bowl until evenly combined. Arrange half of the bread in bottom of prepared dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the cheese and half each of jalapenos, cilantro, and asparagus mixture. Pour over half of egg mixture. Repeat layering with remaining bread, another 1/2 cup of the cheese, and remaining chilies, cilantro and asparagus mixture. Pour remaining egg mixture over top.
• Sprinkle strata with another 1/4 cup of the cheese and push to ensure bread is submerged in egg custard. Cover with plastic wrap, put a plate and a 1-pound weight on top (a large can of tomatoes or rice in a re-sealable plastic bag works well), place in refrigerator for 1 to 12 hours.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 325 degrees F and arrange rack in the middle. Let strata sit at room temperature while oven heats, at least 20 minutes.
• Sprinkle strata with remaining 1/4 cup of the cheese and bake until puffed and edges pull away slightly, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve with some cilantro, sour cream, and avocado, as desired.