What’s Cooking Wednesday: Broccoli Ham Cheese Strata
Breakfast, lunch, brunch or ‘brinner’ (breakfast for dinner) this tasty egg casserole will be a crowd pleaser any time of the day. A ‘strata’ is a savory bread pudding-like dish and its name comes from the fact that it’s a dish with layers. A strata is also a great way to use slightly stale or day-old bread.
One flavorful ingredient in this recipe is ham, a cured cut of pork. Curing is an ancient practice – used for thousands of years to preserve meat long before the invention of refrigeration. From ancient societies and Native American cultures to Pioneer farmsteads, things like ‘salt pork’ and smoke houses preserved protein for the winter months. For a technical look at what curing is and how it works, click here.
I think one of my favorite things about this recipe is the texture – light, fluffy & delicious!
Ingredients:
- 12 slices bread (slightly stale is better)
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 cup broccoli florets, cooked & drained
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cup finely diced ham
- 6 eggs
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 tsp. dry mustard
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9 x 13″ baking dish.
- Cut circles out of the center of each slice of bread with a glass or biscuit cutter. Pinch a hole in the center of each circle to make a doughnut shape.
- Use scraps and crusts of bread to cover the bottom of the baking dish.
- Sprinkle ham, broccoli & onion evenly over bread. Sprinkle with cheese.
- Top with bread doughnuts.
- Whisk eggs and milk together until fluffy. Whisk in dry mustard.
- Pour liquid over casserole evenly. Flip doughnuts to make sure they are coated with egg mixture on both sides.
- Bake for about 50 minutes until top is golden and casserole is set (if you test with a fork, it should come out clean).
- Serve hot.
Note: photos show 1/3 recipe baked in a loaf pan
