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Easter egg strata

0

  • Prep Time20 mins
  • Total Time20 mins
  • Makes6 to 8 servings
*PLUS Cooking time: 2 minutes, Standing Time: 10 minutes, Baking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 bunch asparagus, about 500 g

  • 1 1/2 cups diced cooked ham

  • 8 slices white or egg bread, preferably day-old

  • 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

  • 4 cups 2% or 3.25% milk

  • 8 eggs

  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 140-g log creamy goat cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Coat a 9x13-inch (3-L) baking dish with butter. Fill a large frying pan with about 1 inch (2.5 cm) water. Add 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, snap off or trim tough ends from asparagus. Cut asparagus into large bite-size pieces. They should measure about 3 cups (750 mL). Slip asparagus into boiling water and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water. Immediately drain asparagus and plunge into ice water. When asparagus is completely cooled, remove from water and pat dry with paper towels.

  • Place asparagus and ham in a large bowl. Cut crusts off bread, if you like, then slice bread into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces. Combine with asparagus and ham. Turn half of mixture into baking dish, making sure it is evenly distributed. Slice hard-boiled eggs into quarters and distribute over asparagus mixture. Cover with remaining asparagus mixture. In a large bowl, whisk milk with eggs, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt, pepper and nutmeg. Crumble in goat cheese and whisk to blend in. Some lumps will remain. Pour evenly over asparagus mixture.

  • Bake in centre of 350F (180C) oven until edges are golden and a knife inserted into centre of strata comes out fairly clean, from 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


Nutrition (per serving)

Calories 336, Protein 23.7g, Carbohydrates 21.9g, Fat 16.9g, Fibre 1.5g, Sodium 941mg.

A strata is an easy, make-ahead layered dish that's ideal for a large crowd. Whether or not you use leftovers such as ham, it's impressive enough to serve for an Easter brunch. Ours is chock full of yummy spring classics--asparagus, ham and hard-boiled eggs.

Make ahead

Prepare strata, but do not bake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 1 day. Remove plastic wrap. Place straight from the refrigerator into centre of preheated 350F (180C) oven. Bake until edges are golden and a knife inserted into centre of strata comes out fairly clean, from 50 to 55 minutes.

Bread tip

If using fresh bread, lightly toast whole slices in a toaster or a preheated 375F (190C) oven just until lightly browned. This will help prevent strata from becoming too soggy and mushy.

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