Kale and Leek Strata with Ricotta

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For brunch on Christmas day this year, I went sweet with cinnamon rolls and Lara went savory with this yummy strata. She adapted it from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it originally from Gourmet. I posted the original recipe below but Lara did a lot of adapting and replacing ingredients. The core of the recipe was the same though as she followed the basic custard as posted in the original. However, she replaced the spinach with kale, the onion with leeks (approximately 2 medium), and the gruyere with ricotta mixed with lemon zest and salt (approximately 12 ounces of ricotta).

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The leeks were sautéed until nice and soft. Once they were pretty much done the kale was added, some on heat until wilted down, and then a little more added off heat to wilt just slightly but still maintain some texture. I don’t really have a measurement of kale, she just added it until it looked right! However much or little you want. She then layered it as done in the original recipe; bread, then leek/kale mixture, and then blobs of yummy ricotta. We had leftover baguette so used that for the bread. Ended up using a little extra bread, more like 12-14 ounces. This type of recipe is very flexible!

Spinach and Cheese Strata
From Smitten Kitchen, Adapted from Gourmet, February 2003 Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients

  • 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze of all excess liquid, and chopped

  • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

  • 8 cups cubed French or Italian bread in 1-inch cubes (1/2 lb)

  • 6 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère (2 cups)

  • 2 ounces finely grated parmesan (1 cup)

  • 2 3/4 cups milk

  • 9 large eggs

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Directions
Sauté onion in butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nutmeg and continue cooking for one minute. Stir in spinach, remove from heat and set aside.

Spread one third of the bread cubes in a well-buttered 3-quart gratin dish or other ceramic baking dish. Top with one-third of spinach mixture and one-third of each cheese. Repeat layering twice with remaining bread, spinach and cheese.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl and pour evenly over strata. Cover with plastic wrap and chill strata for eat least 8 hours or up to a day.

The next day, let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 350°F. Bake strata, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed, golden brown, and cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.