This recipe is adapted from one in “Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen” by Heidi Swanson. The recipe was written for spinach, but your beet greens will work perfectly here. The only caveat, any time you cook with beet greens, you’ll end up with a pink-tinted dish. Just warn your guests and all will be well. Serves 6.
Stratas are one of the most forgiving and accepting of dishes. Combine anything tasty, let it sit overnight and bake the next day. Hot breakfast/dinner as easy as can be.
Stale bread is great, but fresh bread works fine. You may not want to soak it quite as long. As a matter of fact, if you want to skip the “sitting” step, you can assemble a strata and bake it right away, as long as you use fresh bread.
Not a fan of feta? Substitute whatever cheese you like.
Ingredients:
6 cups day-old crusty bread, large dice 2 cups coarsely chopped beet greens 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 3/4 ounces) 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Zest from 1 lemon 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 6 large eggs 2 cups milk 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves, optional
Preparation:
Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
In the prepared baking dish, toss together bread, greens and half the cheese. Spread evenly.
In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon zest, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add eggs and milk and whisk again. Stir in oregano. Very slowly drizzle the mixture over the bread and evenly sprinkle the remaining cheese over top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the strata and bake until the custard is set and the edges are browned, about 45 to 55 minutes. Place on a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.