There is a little cafe in Old City Philadelphia that I absolutely love called Wedge and Fig. It’s essentially a cheese shop converted into a bistro, so they really know how to choose the best cheese for a particular dish. One of my absolute favorite dishes they serve on their brunch menu is a spinach and cheese strata “savory layers of egg, Cantal cheese, spinach, shallots and bread.” It’s absolutely fantastic.
This weekend, I kind of had an epiphany: strata is a great make ahead option! I decided to make a batch of my own ahead of a busy week, and then portioned it out into containers to bring into work.
Like Wedge and Fig’s version, I used Cantal cheese, spinach and shallots. Cantal is a farmhouse cheese from France that has a flavor somewhat similar to Cheddar — buttery and tangy. I added in some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as well as some sourdough bread to bring a bit more tanginess to the dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 1 cup finely chopped shallots
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 8 cups cubed sourdough bread (1/2 lb)
- 2 cups grated Cantal cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 9 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- cooking spray