Strata is a great multi-serve breakfast/brunch type food made with bread, eggs, and some sort of filling. In a way, it’s a bit of a Quiche/French toast hybrid because you really infuse the bread with your eggs (instead of a crust) before building upwards with your filling ingredients. However you like to think of it, Strata has a special place in our hearts because we made 3 huge ones (bacon, sausage and peppers, and broccoli cheddar) for breakfast to feed our wedding guests the day after the wedding before everyone went home.
Since it had been 3+ years since I last made a strata with bacon, I had to call in an expert (Gramma) for a consultation on how to best work with the bacon when making this particular strata. She told me that the key is to semi-precook the bacon before adding it. Essentially, you want to render the fat so it doesn’t seep into your strata in the oven…but you don’t want to cook the bacon to the point where it’s crispy, or it will be very overcooked when you’re ready to eat.
If you prefer other flavours in your strata, try using your favourite quiche fillings! They will not disappoint.
Time:
- 30 Minutes Prep Time
- 1 Day Wait Time
- 60 Minutes Cook Time
Ingredients:
- Eggs (we used 15, so be ready to use a lot).
- Milk/Cream
- Bread (We used Homemade Sourdough)
- Fresh Pumpkin
- Scallion Onions
- Bacon
- Gruyere
- Black pepper
Method:
- Day 1 Prep:
- Spray a glass casserole dish with olive oil, and then slice your bread, and layer it on the bottom of your pan.
- Break down your Pumpkin, cut it into wedges, remove the skin, and shred some wedges with a box grater or the shredding plate of your food processor.
- Spread your shredded pumpkin atop your bread.
- Slice your scallions, and layer them atop your pumpkin.
- Working about 6 eggs at a time, beat your eggs with some milk/cream, and then pour them over your pumpkin. Continue to do this until your egg level rises up to the top of your pumpkin.
- Cover with foil, and let sit overnight in your refrigerator.
- When you’re ready to cook the next day:
- Remove your pan from the fridge so that it can begin to warm up a little.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Half cook your bacon in a pan so that the fat renders, but you don’t let it get crispy.
- Layer that bacon on your pumpkin and eggs.
- Slice your Gruyere and place it atop your bacon.
- Give a good pepper grind all around the top.
- Stash in the oven for about 45-60 minutes (depending on how many eggs you used and the shape of your pan).
- When your strata reaches an internal cooked temperature 160 degrees F on a digital thermometer, you’re ready!
- Remove from the oven, allow to sit for a minute, and then cut into pieces.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
