Recipe: Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper Strata and Article: Strata

STRATA

"Made with whole-grain bread and frozen spinach, this pudding-like dish is a treat for everyone. It takes just minutes to assemble and, after refrigerating it overnight, it only needs to be baked and served piping hot. It makes a festive, healthy meal that includes red and green vegetables plus a serving of whole grains.

Stratas have been around for nearly a century. They were particularly popular during the two world wars, when lavish amounts of creamy milk and eggs compensated for the scarcity of meat in wartime. This strata fits today's growing appreciation for meatless dishes, particularly if they are successfully slimmed-down, as this one is, to fit our desire for big flavor and less calories.

In this strata, mustard takes the place of the butter our great-grandmothers would have used, and it gives zip to the layers of hearty whole-wheat bread. Cheddar cheese can be used generously, thanks to today's good quality, reduced-fat cheeses.

Combining whole eggs with whites also provides plenty of richness while cutting down on the total cholesterol in this colorful dish.

Home-roasted peppers provide the best flavor. Oven-roasting requires far less effort than the laborious work of charring the peppers over an open flame. This technique produces a velvet texture that works better in this dish. (Thick-walled imported red peppers take longer to roast than thin-walled domestic peppers.) If you need to really streamline assembly of this strata, bottled roasted red peppers are an option.

SPINACH AND ROASTED RED PEPPER STRATA

3 large red bell peppers, halved and seeded
3 tsp. Dijon-style mustard
6 slices very firm whole wheat bread
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1 cup (4 oz.) reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cups 1% milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking oil spray.

Arrange peppers, cut side down, on a lightly-sprayed baking sheet. Roast 20 to 25 minutes or until the peppers are soft and their skin is puffy in places. Place peppers in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside 20 to 30 minutes. Peel peppers.

Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees F.

Spread 1/2 teaspoon mustard on each slice of bread. Arrange 3 slices of bread to cover bottom of baking dish, cutting excess as needed. Cover bread with half the peppers. Squeeze excess water out of spinach and sprinkle half of it over peppers. Cover with half the shredded cheese. Repeat, using remaining peppers, spinach and cheese.

Whisk eggs and whites together in a bowl. Whisk in milk, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over bread and vegetables.

Bake strata 40 minutes or until eggs are set. Let sit 15 minutes. Cut into 6 rectangles and serve.

Makes 6 servings, each containing 193 calories and 5 grams of fat
Adapted from source: Dana Jacobi for the American Institute