Though I love cooking in all its forms, I must admit that I get a particular thrill out of transforming leftovers into new dishes. Doing so not only uses every bit of food in my kitchen, but also reduces the weekly grocery shopping bill while satisfying our taste buds - all in one fell swoop.
Last week I learned how to make baguettes so you know what we had a lot of: bread. Not just one loaf, not two, but three - because practice makes perfect right? One of them we gave away but that still left us with two loaves of whole wheat bread to use before (and after) they went stale. Naturally our consumption began with sandwiches, then we progressed to bruschetta - lightly oiled and grilled slices of bread topped with a mixture of diced olives, tomatoes, arugula, garlic and goat cheese. After placing them under the broiler for a few minutes, just long enough for the mixture to warm, we drizzled each piece with premium grade balsamic vinegar. We relished each crunchy bite of this easy-to-prepare meal on Friday, only to look up and realize that we still had half a baguette to use.
The solution? Strata! If you haven’t tried this concoction of eggs, cheese, cream and bread you should give it a go soon. Like French toast, it’s a delectable way to use day-old pieces of bread, creating something like a quiche with the crust mixed in. More than this it’s open to a wide array of variation. From tomatoes and onions to pancetta and spinach, whatever you like (and have in your fridge) is fair game - yet another reason strata is great when it comes to using leftover bits of this and that. The strata pictured above was made with dried thyme and sage, tomatoes, onions, goat cheese and Parmesan. All simple ingredients, but lovely on a lazy Saturday evening.
Before the recipe one quick note: I’ve revamped the Books section of this site which, much to my chagrin, has been shockingly slow for the past couple months. A seemingly endless search for the perfect Wordpress plugin ensued, until this weekend when I finally found it: Now Reading. So my apologies for the sluggish library section of days gone by. Please bear with me as I add all my reviews to the new database over the next couple weeks. 
Tomato Goat Cheese Strata
Slightly adapted from Fresh Food Fast, by Peter Berley
Ingredients: Serves 4
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1/2 tablespoon dried sage
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with their juice
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- 1/2 pound day-old artisanal bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)
- 1/4 pound fresh goat cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Set a rack on the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, thyme and sage. Set aside.
Place a large (10 to 12 inch) ovenproof saute pan over high heat. When the pan is hot add the olive oil, then the onions, and cook until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute, stirring, for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes and salt and bring to a simmer.
Stir the bread into the mixture. Crumble the goat cheese over the bread, then pour the egg and cream mixture over everything and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the strata has set and is golden on top, about 25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Other herb combos to try: parsley and sage, rosemary and thyme, oregano and basil. If using fresh herbs remember that the fresh to dry herb ratio is 3 to 1. In other words, for every 1 tablespoon of dry herbs you would substitute 3 tablespoons of fresh herbs.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, September 30th, 2007 by Ariela and is filed under Breakfast, Main Dishes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
43 Responses for "Tomato & Goat Cheese Strata"
Ari, this strata sounds delicious. My favorite thing to do with dishes like this is to assemble the night before, and bake for breakfast or brunch the next day. I love goat cheese baked in eggs in almost any form!
This will make excellent brunch or lunch! I have to try it.
what a great way to use leftover bread!
That looks so comfy and satisfying!
Okay Ari, you got me. I looked at this photo and said Wow! that looks gooood!
After reading your entry I discovered the recipe was adapted from Fresh Food Fast that I won in the book raffle. So, now you defintely got me! I have to try the cookbook and your recipe out, maybe I’ll be lucky enough for my dish to resemble yours in some small way.
It sounds like this could be used in a multitude of dining options — brunch, dinner or appetizer.
Wow! That looks fantastic. Thanks for the book you sent me on desserts, by the way. Lovely! It’s by my bedside at the moment, gaining post-it notes for the recipes to try.
That sounds delicious and looks delicious too!!
Um…I just ate breakfast and my mouth is watering after looking at your picture above. I love breakfast foods for dinner so it looks like a strata is in my future, yummm!
Thanks!
Looks great as always. I really enjoy the photos as much as the dishes you make!
I totally hear you on leftovers. I’m always trying to find new ways to use them (and when there’s only two of you…there are almost *always* leftovers…). Stratas are great for brunch — you can do all the grunt work in advance!
This looks delicious! My bf always asks me to make cheese croutons when we have stale bread.
Oh, yum! Two of my favorite things!
This is so simple and yet so filling….I have never tried this or tasted it though
I’ve never had strata before. I love the riot of colours in the dish. Will definitely try.
I just posed a question on Serious Eats re: heavy cream uses—this recipe is a perect example. Beautiful photo, too!
How did you know I needed a recipe like this? I am going to a brunch at the inlaws soon and needed a kick ass dish to knock their socks off!
Kinda reminds me of a frittata! Looks great.
Good luck with the wine! Whats the book called?
What a great way to use leftover bread! we’re so used to making pain perdu here that I never think to make anything else with it, but I’m going to give this a go, what with tomatoes and goat cheese, what’s not to love.
Strata is a great fall meal. I was going to make a frittata soon, but I have lots of old bread in the freezer, so maybe I should make a strata instead…
I love that you’re making your own french bread! I should do that same thing. I have enough time…
That looks incredible!! Now I’m hungry!
The strata looks and sounds delicious, Ari. Yum!
Wow, that strata looks very yummy! Like you, I also use leftovers to create new dishes or prepare recipes. I hate to throw my food away…
Cheers,
Rosa
What a ingenious way to use leftover bread! I shall remember this next time.
I hope your husband realizes how lucky is. This looks good!
Sometimes I think I should make a list of all the wonderful ways to use up stale bread: strata, bread pudding, papa al pomdoro, fette, croutons for salads. They’re all delicious!
This looks wonderful, happy sukkot!
I love tomatoes and I love goat cheese. The pairing is always spectacular and I can only imagine that this would be the same.
On my menu for next week.
Anything with goat cheese is good in my book, but this looks particularly enticing!
This is such a wonderful shot of a gr8 looking dish.Really gr8 macro ! Who could tell its made up of old bread.
First of all, the strata looks fantastic. It’s making my mouth water to just look at it. I think I will definitely have to try this in the weeks to come. Do you know if a strata would freeze well? It might be a good dish for NaNoWriMo.
Also, the plugin looks pretty nifty. I might give it a try myself. All Consuming is nice, but it definitely has limitations.
I will make this for Sunday brunch!
Thank youuuuuu!
To be honest, I had no idea such a thing as “strata” existed. *sheepish*
I love stratas….and frittatas! Amazing how far you can take a simple egg and how many delightful recipes they give us. From the simple soft boiled to the elegant souffle.
I made a similar strata once for a brunch, and it was a huge hit! Yours looks outrageously delicious. I’d love to have a big mouthful or two right now!
this is something we should all making during fall! lovely strata indeed…
Your strata looks great. How wonderful that you learned to bake baguettes, it’s on my list to do!
Your wishlist library is such fun to look through too
The smart cook loves leftovers. We’d be hungry some days if not for leftovers.
I’ve found that making my bread with a sourdough starter, or throwing in some mashed potato, really extends the shelf life. Since you read Reinhart, I imagine you’ve tried it, but if not give it a whirl. I’m happy to share starter :).
yummy! i’ve made two quiches in the past week with my leftovers, but i think i’ll give this a try next!
HEY!!! Long time since I have come and seen you! We are all too busy. this looks so yummy.
Glad to see you are staying out of trouble.
Wow, that looks fantastic.
This is the first time I see strata and I can’t wait to try it, Ari - it looks scrumptious!