Strata with Spinach and Bacon Recipe

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strata recipe
  • Vegetarian
Serves8
SkillEasy
Preparation Time20 mins plus chilling
Cooking Time1 hours
Total Time1 hours 20 mins plus chilling
Cost RangeCheap
Nutrition Per PortionRDA
Calories500 Kcal25%
Fat26 g37%
Saturated Fat12 g60%

Our strata recipe with spinach and bacon is the perfect feed-a-crowd brunch. Strata is a savoury bread and butter pudding that can be made the day before. This eggy breakfast bake is an Italian-American favourite and will become a staple in your household before you know it! Allowing this breakfast bake time to sit and chill means that the bread has time to really soak up the egg mixture, and all the flavours can intensify. Any strata recipe is best made with slightly stale bread. This is because its slight dryness allows it to soak up the eggs much better than fresh bread, and makes it a great use for leftover bread. We’ve used spinach, bacon, and gruyere cheese in our strata recipe, but you could try experimenting with other flavour combinations.

HOW TO MAKE STRATA RECIPE WITH SPINACH AND BACON

Method

  1. Fry the pancetta in a pan until golden, then remove with a slotted spoon. Cook the onions in the same pan in the remaining fat. Add the spinach and cook through, then add the pancetta. Remove the mix from the pan and set aside.
  2. Beat together the eggs, milk and mustard in a large bowl.
  3. In a greased baking dish, layer a third of the bread, a third of the spinach and pancetta mix, then a third of the Gruyère, and repeat until the dish is full. Pour over the egg mixture and top with Parmesan.
  4. Chill for at least 4 hours, but it’s best left overnight. Heat the oven to 180C. Bake the strata for 45-55 mins or until browned.

Ingredients

  • 150g pancetta cubetti or smoked bacon lardons
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 300g frozen spinach, thawed and drained
  • 8 eggs
  • 600ml whole milk
  • 1tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 500g ciabatta (slightly stale is best), cut into cubes
  • 200g grated Gruyère
  • 50g grated Parmesan