Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Spinach Strata

Strata or Stratta is an Italian brunch casserole dish .It is similar to quiche but uses bread for crust.Here I have tried to recreate a spinach and cheese strata replacing eggs with tofu and it turned out better than expected.So here it is.

Ingredients:

Crusty Italian Bread: 1 loaf cubed /chopped
Spinach: 2 cups chopped
Onion: 1 medium
Corn Kernels (optional):1-2 tbsp
Mozzarella cheese: 1/2cup shredded/sliced
Parmesan cheese : 1/2 cup shredded/sliced

Spices as per taste
Red chilli flakes
Oregano

Salt & Pepper

Wet Mix:
Tofu +Soya milk: 2 cup or more
Heavy Cream: 2-4 tbsp
Dijon Mustard: 2-3 tbsp

Preparation:

Chop onions finely.Also roughly chop the spinach.If using baby spinach leaves,use as such.Heat olive oil in a pan,add onions.Saute till transparent.Add corn kernels and chopped spinach and salt and other spices.I used red chilli flakes,pepper and dried oregano.Mix well and simmer till spinach wilts.Keep aside to cool.Blend together tofu and soya milk in batches if needed to obtain a creamy mix.Whisk this in a small bowl with dijon mustard,heavy cream,salt and pepper.The mix should be batter-like or rather neither too thick nor too thin.Adjust this by adding more soy milk/cream.

In a baking dish( traditionally rectangular dish,I used 9 inch round pie pan),arrange cubes of bread as a single layer.Top this with the cooled spinach mix.Top the spinach layer with half of each of the cheeses. Now,here I wanted it to be separate layers.You can mix bread and spinach together and then spread as a single layer and top it with cheese as well.

The bread-spinach layer is ........

Spread/pour the tofu batter evenly over the strata. Top it with the rest of the cheese.I also sprinkled pepper over this,but it is optional. Let stand overnight in the refrigerator or atleast half an hour at room temperature.Overnight is better and is prefered,though I like and used the second option.


Final look before baking........

Bake the strata in a preheated oven at 350F for 50-55 minutes,until the cheese melts and tops browns a bit.Cool for a few minutes and serve warm,by cutting into wedges.

Fresh from the oven...


When cut into wedges.............


Though this is supposed to be a brunch/breakfast casserole,this can be served for dinner also as it can be very heavy. The crust is a softer compared to pies as bread soaks the liquid.You can also make individual portions in small ramekins as well.Now you can also make strata with fruits especially apples and berries if you have a sweet tooth.

Cut using a sharp knife,if you want a better looking wedge...Mine did not look so pretty but was tasty and spicy just as I liked.

Now this is my Entry for RecipeMarathon Day #4,lets check out what other athletes are upto:
1) DK 2) Siri 3) Srivalli 4) Ranji 5)PJ 6)Medha 7)Priya 8)Bhawna 9)Raaji 10)Ruchii 11)Anu 12)Kamala 13)Roopa 14)Divya Kudua 15)Rekha 16)Divya M 17)Lakshmi 18)Raaga 19)LakshmiVenkatesh 20) Sripriya 21)Viji

20 Comments:

Padmajha said...

Wow!I have bookmarked all ur bakes!looks awesome n easy

Medhaa said...

this is a must try, I love it

lakshmi said...

i love your recipes - they're much like what i'd love to eat. i am making baguettes this sunday, perhaps one of them can be converted into a casserole.

anudivya said...

I have made a berry strata before, but never replaced eggs with tofu, which seems like a brilliant idea.

Divya Kudua said...

Looks delectable..!!

Srivalli said...

Looks great!

lubnakarim06 said...

Something new to me. Looks yummy.

kamala said...

Never had this before..delicious..

Yasmeen said...

good going with the marathon,mmm healthy strata recipe looks YUM!

Unknown said...

Wow that is one hearty meal:) looks like a one pot dish:) loved the idea you have incorporated. It looks like fritatta, or pizza:)

Unknown said...

I am up for eggless baking, looks delicious.

Bhawana said...

it looks delicious dear :). Loved the texture.

raaji said...

this looks gr with tofu.....lovely want to taste it..

Divya said...

looks yummy....this is really new to me...

Sagari said...

This looks absaloutly amazing

Unknown said...

Sounds Delicious..

Cham said...

I made once with bread and egg but without knowing it is strata. Love the tofu version

Unknown said...

ooooh so cheeseeee wonderful im goin to bookmark and sending this to my sis too she loves like this recipes

Priya Suresh said...

Will try this soon...looks fabulous..

Unknown said...

What an awesome collection of recipes u have.Thanks for following my blog.I love this recipe and ur coffee cookies as well as the Irish bread.Fantastic marathon, Good job. I am also adding u in my blog list so that we can keep in touch.

Thanks for visiting my Blog

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