Build-Your-Own Strata

When my daughter heads back to college in the fall, she will be living in an apartment with three of her friends. Because she won’t have the convenience of walking over to the dining hall for her meals, she is taking time this summer to learn some basic cooking skills so she can cook well-balanced and healthy meals (I hope!) in her apartment kitchen during the school year.

I know that many teens will be in a similar situation with either heading back to school or taking that next step towards independence. They will need to learn the skills to feed themselves in a healthy and cost-effective way, which is why we created our Next Level Teen Boot Camp, specifically designed for a slightly older age group to help them achieve culinary success in the real world.

My husband, who is also a chef, and I have been working with Delilah on making a variety of practical-yet-delicious recipes ideal for busy college students, and this particular recipe has been inspired by the fresh eggs acquired from our neighbors’ chickens.

The neighbors are out of town for a few days, and Delilah has been tasked with caring for the chickens, which means she gets to keep the eggs they lay each day!

There are a gazillion recipes where eggs are the main feature, so it took a minute to decide on an egg-forward recipe, but we finally settled on Strata. A strata is simply an egg, cheese and bread casserole that can include any ingredients you like! Often, it’s assembled in layers with thin slices of bread, but it can also be made from cubed bread that gets simply mixed together with the other feature ingredients. Being more or less like a savory (not sweet) bread pudding, it’s a great way to use up leftovers/items from your freezer and is an easy and inexpensive dish that can be made ahead of time and then reheated.

The most basic ingredients include eggs, cheese and bread, and you can leave it at that, but there’s so much more you can add to a strata to make it more interesting and nutritionally dense. Here is a list of ideas and inspiration:

The Bread: Any type of bread can be used in a strata! I typically start with what’s in my freezer and use up what’s in there (I found a sliced French baguette and plain croissants) but you can use challah, brioche, sourdough bread, multigrain or even everything bagels like Kate did in her blog. Just be sure to cube your bread of choice and let it sit out for an hour, uncovered, to dry it out a bit. This will ensure your strata doesn’t get too soggy.

Meat Options: If you would like to add meat, cooked and crumbled bacon and cooked breakfast sausage are the most obvious options. But, how about that leftover link of cooked Italian sausage, grilled chicken breast or deli ham in your fridge that needs to get used up? Just be sure that any meat you use in your strata is already cooked.

Veggie Options: Take a look in your veggie drawer, because everything is game! Sautéed zucchini, broccoli, peppers, onions, fennel, spinach and mushrooms are all great additions. You can also add diced tomatoes, thinly sliced scallions and fresh chopped herbs. Just like the meat you add, your vegetables should be sautéed or roasted before being added. We put spinach on just half our strata, so our picky 15-year-old son would have a spinach-free side to enjoy.  

Cheese: My favorite cheese to add to a strata is pepper jack because it’s creamy when melted and adds a bit of spice. But cheddar, Swiss, gruyere, parmesan, gouda (smoked or not), feta and goat cheese are also great. Clean out your cheese drawer and try and combination of cheeses!

Sausage, Onion and Spinach Strata

Yield: 6-8 servings

Active time: 40 minutes

Start to finish: 1 hour, 45 minutes

8 cups bread of your choice such as baguette, challah, brioche, sourdough, multigrain or croissants, torn or cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage

1/2 onion, medium dice

1 cup frozen, chopped leaf spinach

9 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 cup pepper jack cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Lay the cubed bread on a sheet tray, and allow to dry out for 1 hour. Note: Using slightly drier bread will prevent the strata from becoming too soggy. You can alternatively toast the bread in a 300° oven for 10 minutes.

2. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. Cook the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until fully cooked and golden brown.

3. Add the onions and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.

5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Stir in the parmesan cheese, pepper jack cheese and the sausage-vegetable mixture.

7. Add the dried bread and allow to soak for at least 30 minutes or overnight, pushing down the bread.

8. Preheat the oven to 375° and butter or spray a baking dish.

9. Pour the soaked strata into the baking dish and bake until the eggs are set and the top is a light golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.

10. Serve hot or room temperature.

As you can see, this recipe is highly customizable and can be tailored to utilize what’s in your fridge. It’s filling, satisfying and delicious and practical for a young adult to prepare because it doesn’t require any special tools. It can be refrigerated up to one week and even frozen for up to three months. If freezing the strata, cut it into squares first and wrap each portion in a piece of foil. Don’t forget to label and date it!

If you know a young adult that could benefit from a week in the kitchen, sign them up for Next Level Teen Boot Camp! We only have one session being offered this summer on August 5-9 (right before our teens head off to school), so sign them up now before it sells out. Each day will focus on skills and techniques that can be accomplished with basic kitchen tools and cookware, setting your teen up for a successful and fun journey into the world of everyday cooking. We will end the week with a mystery competition where groups will be given a surprise menu to execute in the allotted time utilizing the skills from the week. They will focus on teamwork, timing, communication and fun!