Christmas Brunch - Cheese Strata

Asked by truhoo. Answered on 13th December 2011

Full question

Last December I watched a special Christmas Nigella episode on Food Network in the US. She made a wonderful dish that was very similar to a recipe I have called "Cheese Strata". I think the ingredients were scallions, cheese, eggs and milk. I searched diligently on Food Network's website and found the episode, but no recipes were provided. I've also searched on this website with "cheese" and "souffle" but still no success. I would love to make this for my family this Christmas. Hoping you can help! Beverly

Hi there, in New Zealand Nigella's Christmas Kitchen is showing - I'm unsure which season though. There was a recipe for cheese and onion strata, pie or souffle? It was a rich cheesy egg mixture poured over sliced baguettes and has mozzarella cheese and cheddar. Please guide me to the right recipe! Teena999

Our answer

The recipe that you are looking for is Nigella's Triple Cheese And Onion Strata and it appears in Nigella's book Christmas on p251. It is also available on the BBC website (see link below). Nigella suggests it as an easy going dish for a Christmas Brunch, or you could have it for breakfast on Christmas Day.

The strata is a type of savoury bread and butter pudding (bread pudding), almost like a cross between a toasted cheese sandwich and baked French toast. The beauty of the strata is that it is at its best if assembled the night before as the bread is able to soak up all of the cheesy, eggy liquid as it sits. It can then just be baked in the morning without any additional fuss. We would like to mention that the 30 minutes baking time is based in the strata being allowed to stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes so that it is not completely fridge cold when it goes into the oven. If it is fridge cold then you may need to add 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time to make sure that it is fully heated through.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/triplecheeseandonion_90623