Here is a great little dish to serve for a sophisticated brunch at home. This is actually the 3rd dish I said I would blog about from Mother’s Day. Sorry I have been busy. Last year I made a baked french toast dish which my mom loved. I thought I would stick to the idea but turn it into a savory dish.

Spinach came to mind and there are plenty of recipes out there for a Spinach Strata. My deciding factor was this recipe at The Flour Sack which used Feta cheese as well. A Strata is very similar to a quiche but instead of  crust you soak the egg mixture up with bread, mix in cheese and bake it after leaving it overnight in the fridge to make sure the bread has completely absorbed the egg mixture. It is a very versatile dish as you can tried different kinds of cheeses or add sausage, mushrooms, whatever you like. This time around when I saw the spinach and feta version the first thing that came to mind was ‘Bingo!”

If you want to see the other two recipes I made for the brunch you can check them out here: a Maple Apple Brussels Sprout Salad as a side dish and for dessert Lemon Rice Pudding Verrine with Chocolate Ganache.

Ξ Spinach and Feta Strata Ξ

grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (coating the pan)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
6 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
10 oz crusty day old bread
2 cups spinach leaves (coarsely chopped baby, 3 12 ounces)
1 cup feta, crumbled

1 Coat an 9-inch square baking dish with olive oil. Sprinkle lemon zest. Add the bread, spinach, and half of the feta. Gently toss the mixture with your hands until combined, then spread it into an even layer; set aside.

2 Whisk the measured olive oil, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until combined. Add the eggs and milk and whisk until combined. Very slowly drizzle the mixture over the bread and evenly sprinkle the remaining half of the feta over top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3 Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake until the custard is set and the edges are browned, about 55 to 65 minutes. Drizzle olive oil and add chopped fresh oregano.