It has a lot going for it.
Apart from anything else, it has the unique distinction of being an enduring sensual pleasure that can be enjoyed in public. Doesn't even require a partner for full unfettered enjoyment.
No wonder I love the stuff so much.
This month's focus in on strata, a cross between French bread, savoury bread pudding and soufflé. It's a breakfast/brunch dish that's prepared twenty four hours in advance, and it feeds six hungry people in the quantities given below. So you can either share it with convial company or console yourself for the absence of said company by cheerfully consuming the entire thing.
It's great with very good coffee and champagne and fresh-squeezed orange juice. (Then again, almost anything is great with very good coffee and champagne and fresh-squeezed orange juice.)
Ingredients
Bread
The classic recipe requires day old Italian bread, or French bread, or panettone, or challah. Something with a bit of heft. If you can cut it in 1 inch slices, so much the better: the strata ends up with a better texture that way.
Milk
Whether you use milk or cream and what proportion of each you use depends on your self-indulgence and cholesterol-consciousness. Actually, I don't think it makes enough difference to use good heart attack points on heavy cream in this dish. Save the points for beef dripping or croissants.
Eggs
Don't cut down on these. In a fit of health-consciousness I tried making strata with four eggs, and the thing was depressingly runny.
Cheese
The classic recipe calls for equal quantities of Gorgonzola and St. André. To my wallet and palate they make the dish both expensive and salty. I've also made it with low-fat cream cheese enlivened with a small amount of Stilton and a minuscule amount of Shropshire Blue. The latter were quite enough to give the whole dish a good blue-cheesy aroma. (Admittedly, both blue cheeses were so old that I practically had to chase them round the kitchen to get them to join the recipe.)
Basically, the cheese rule seems to be anything creamy enlivened with anything gamy. This is a great recipe for using leftover cheese. You could make a very bland version with all cream cheese, and add something like nutmeg and maple syrup I guess. Just don't tell me about it.
Pleasant Additions
My favourite strata was made with ham and lightly cooked asparagus spears. I've also made one with Italian bacon in it. It lends itself to all sorts of vegetables: puréed spinach would make a good layer, as would mushrooms or artichoke hearts.You can always add green onions (aka spring onions). Sausage meat would make a good savoury layer. So might smoked salmon.
Spices/flavourings
A dash of Tabasco is good when you're using lots of blue cheese. Rosemary goes well with strata. Nutmeg is good if you're going for a creamy, bland strata. (Always use fresh grated nutmeg: the flavour is much more intense and interesting.) Pepper, of course.
Process
Butter a largeish souffle dish(about two and a half quarts) somewhere between two and 24 hours before you want to eat.
Get the layers ready:
Layer the ingredients in the soufflé dish: you can start with whatever layer you like. I tend to put the savoury layer (bacon or ham or sausage or salmon) into the soufflé dish first. Keep going, layering cheese and veggies, if you're using them, and bread. There should be at least two layers of each main ingredient.
Beat together the milk or cream and the eggs. Add whatever spices or flavourings you've decided to use.
Pour the milk and egg mixture slowly over the layers in the soufflé dish. Top with grated cheddar or some such, if you wish.
Cover and refrigerate the whole thing.
About 45 minutes before brunch, preheat the oven to 350F. Cook the strata for 40 minutes, or until the custard is set and the whole shebang is golden and bubbly.
Eat at once, with gusto.