RECIPE: Cheese Strata With Kale, Sausage & Caramelized Onions

November 1, 2014 at 8:43 am · Filed under Breakfast & Brunch, Cheese-Yogurt-Dairy, Recipes

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Cheese strata with kale and sausage (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

Today is gray and chilly, perfect comfort food weather. We’re whipping up this cheese strata, which was created by Annalise of the blog Completely Delicious for Eat Wisconsin Cheese. It’s another way to use stale bread, although fresh bread works fine.

Enjoy it for brunch or lunch with a green salad.

RECIPE: CHEESE STRATA WITH SAUSAGE,
KALE & CARAMELIZED ONIONS

Ingredients For 8 Servings

2 tablespoons butter, divided

1/2 pound pork breakfast sausage roll

1-1/2 cups yellow onion, chopped

2 cups packed kale, stems removed and coarsely chopped

9 cups French or Italian bread, cut into cubes (about
1 baguette)

1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) Fontina cheese, shredded

1/2 cup (2 ounces) Wisconsin Parmesan cheese, grated

2-3/4 cup whole milk

9 large eggs

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation

1. MELT 1 tablespoon butter in sauté pan over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned. Drain on paper towel. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter and onions to pan and cook over low heat until onions are soft and caramelized, 15-20 minutes. Add kale and cook until wilted, stirring frequently.

2. BUTTER a 9×13–inch baking dish. Distribute 1/3 bread cubes in bottom of dish. Top with 1/3 of sausage, kale and onions. Sprinkle with 1/3 of Fontina and Parmesan. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients.

3. WHISK together in large bowl the milk, eggs, mustard, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour over baking dish, making sure all bread cubes are moistened. Press mixture down so it lays flush with the top of baking pan.

4. COVER with buttered foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

5. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Let the strata come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake uncovered 50-55 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in fridge.

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WHAT’S A STRATA?

A strata or strata is a layered casserole dish, similar to a quiche or frittata. The base is a mixture of bread, eggs and cheese, to which any variety of ingredients can be added. Sausage or ham and vegetables are particularly popular.

Strata is the plural of stratum, the Latin word for layer.

According to Wikipedia, the earliest strata recipe known is from 1902, a gratin of layers of bread, white sauce, and cheese, but no eggs.

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