Italian Vegetable Strata

Tonight, I'm making Italian Vegetable Strata based on this recipe. Looking it over, the Italian comes from the seasoning, and some resemblance to antipasto.... enough that  I wish I'd had some banana peppers and kalamata olives to add.  But that'll be for next time!

This time, I did this:

1 cup diced carrots
1 pint fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 zucchini, sliced
2/3 cup milk
3 slices multi-grain bread, cubed
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
5 eggs
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a blend of cheddar and jack)
4 T. Italian bread crumbs
2 T. Italian Blend Mrs. Dash seasoning mix

 Lightly saute the onion, garlic and carrots in a little olive oil, then add mushrooms and zucchini to the pan with a small amount of water, cover and steam for a few minutes.  Vegetables should be softened but not mushy. Let cool, so that they don't curdle the eggs when they're combined.

In a small bowl, combine bread cubes and milk and combine to soak the bread.

In a large bowl, whisk 5 eggs until fluffy, then add the steamed vegetables, the artichoke hearts, the seasoning, and about 1/3 of the cheese.  Fold in the bread cubes and mix gently.

Grease a baking dish and sprinkle with 2 T. crumbs, then turn vegetable-egg mixture into the dish.  Top with the remaining cheese, then sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs.   Cook for an hour at 375F.

Now I can't speak for this yet - it's still cooking, but it looks like it's going to taste great.  We're going to have salad and a bottle of wine with this tonight.  I'll come back - hopefully with pictures - to let you know how it went!

Update - We ate 2/3rds of this, brainstorming all the other fillings and flavor palates we might use - it was wonderful!

This one definitely goes on the list of meatless meals to feed people who are suspicious of eating meatless... you truly do not notice the lack.

This is a winner and going in the regular rotation for me and Michael. (Deanna would not eat it - she doesn't like zucchini or mushrooms... for her, I think I might try a blend of sweet potato, black beans, corn and a bit of chipotle.)

I love recipes that turn out to be 'master recipes' and this is one of those.



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