Goat Cheese and Shiitake Strata

One of the recipes that came with my CSA box this week was this yummy Goat Cheese and Shiitake Strata. It was only me this weekend and the recipe was easy to cut in half and bake in a smaller dish. My son wouldn’t have eaten it anyway so this was my chance to try out the recipe. I used my baguette earlier for Bruschetta so had to go buy another loaf of bread. I decided to use a loaf of French bread instead of the baguette. In hindsight I should have either waited a day to make the strata so the bread was a day old or I should have picked up the baguette. The strata was excellent, but the bread was too soft. I also added some green onion to the top before baking for a little color. I didn’t have fresh parsley but that would have been a good addition after pulling it out of the oven. Enjoy!

Check out these shiitakes, aren’t they beautiful?

Goat Cheese and Shiitake Strata

3/4 of a French baguette, cubed
4 oz Chevre, crumbled
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 cups half & half, milk or cream
6 eggs
2 Tbls finely chopped rosemary
3 Tbls unsalted butter, divided
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a rectangular baking dish. Melt 2 tablespoon butter in a skillet. Add sliced onions and chopped rosemary. Cook over medium heat until onions caramelize, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet. Add mushrooms to dry pan and cook over medium until they begin to lose moisture. Add 1 tablespoon butter and continue cooking a few minutes. Whisk together the half and half, eggs, salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.

Place bread cubes in another medium bowl. Sprinkle with the cheese, onions and mushrooms. Toss with the milk mixture. Allow the bread cubes to soak for 5 to 10 minutes, until bread is moist.

Pour bread mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 20-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and gives resistance to the touch, or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.