You know those times where you're just sitting at home and it hits you, wow I'm hungry. Like a sneak attack of some sort. I don't know about you but when I get hungry, I get "hangry" (combo of hungry + angry). In this state its best for me to eat ASAP unless you wanna deal with the consequences. I found myself in this situation a few weeks ago and of course there wasn't really anything in my house to eat besides the basics. Then thank god for Pinterest for the idea of a strata, just milk, eggs, bread, cheese, and tomatoes. And let me tell you what a beautiful feeling it is when you find a perfect recipe and you have all the ingredients in quantities you need. Also bonus it's a one pan recipe and I get an excuse to use my cast iron skillet.
Heirloom Caprese Strata
Recipe by Christine Byrne
Serves 4
For this recipe, I used 8 slices of multigrain grocery store bread, because it had been sitting in my refrigerator forever. Really, though, you can use any kind of bread you want, as long as it yields 4-6 cups of torn cubes.
INGREDIENTS
8 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
8 slices multigrain bread, torn into rough 2-inch pieces (4-6 cups)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, divided
8 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
8 slices multigrain bread, torn into rough 2-inch pieces (4-6 cups)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn, divided
PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 375 °F.
1. Preheat oven to 375 °F.
2 Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl, and whisk vigorously until the whites and yolks are combined and the mixture starts to bubble. Whisk in the milk and season with salt and pepper. Add the torn pieces of bread and toss everything together so that the bread is completely saturated.
3. Melt butter in a large cast-iron skillet (if you don’t have cast-iron, just make sure you’re using something oven-proof) over medium heat. Swirl the butter around the bottom of the skillet, and tilt the pan so that the butter coats at least 1 1/2-inches up the sides. Add the bread and egg mixture, and spread it over the bottom of the skillet in a full, even layer. Top with sliced tomato and sliced mozzarella, then sprinkle with half of the basil leaves.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the egg is completely cooked through. Take the strata out of the oven and let it sit for at least 5 minutes in the skillet before serving
5. To serve, cut 4 equal slices and garnish with the remaining basil. It’s great served with a green salad, but also perfectly delicious on its own.
