BLT Strata

(from largomason’s recipe box)

You can prep the BLT strata in stages. Bake the tomatoes well ahead of time (maybe some night after dinner when the oven is already up and going). And, while you’re up, bake a double batch of tomatoes and save some for sandwiches or for tossing with pasta. The strata itself needs to be assembled at least an hour before baking, but it can also be assembled the night before and baked the next morning.

Source: kitchendaily.com

Ingredients

  • 9 plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 4 teaspoons olive oil
  • 10 slices (1 1/2 ounces each) firm-textured multigrain sandwich bread
  • 10 slices bacon
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 4 cups 2% milk
  • 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

  2. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Cut out the hard white core at the stem end. Toss the tomatoes with the oil. Arrange cut-side up on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.

  3. Reduce the oven temperature to 250°F and continue to bake the tomatoes for 30 minutes or until the tomatoes are well collapsed. At the same time, arrange the bread on a baking sheet and place in the oven to dry out, turning them over after 15 minutes.

  4. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon (in batches if necessary) until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

  5. Grease the bottom of a 9 × 13-inch baking dish. With a serrated knife, cut the bread in half crosswise. Lay 10 halves in the baking dish (they’ll be crowded; trim a little if necessary).

  6. Arrange the tomatoes over the bread. Crumble the bacon over the tomatoes. Brush each of the remaining slices of bread with 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise and arrange over the bacon, mayonnaise-side up.

  7. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg whites, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour the custard into the baking dish. Press gently with a spatula to make sure the top slices are touching the custard so they can absorb it. Cover and let sit until the top layer of bread is soaked through, 30 to 45 minutes (or longer, covered and refrigerated).

  8. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the strata for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until puffed and nicely browned on the top. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into 10 servings.

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