Bell Pepper and Goat Cheese Strata

I’m going to continue to have recipes that will have some of the produce I bought the other day. I do love red bell peppers and they are very good for you. They boost your immune system due to high vitamin A, C and antioxidant properties, including beta carotene, which helps maintain healthy skin and vision.

Red bell peppers contain 1.5 times more vitamin C, 8 times more vitamin A and 11 times more beta carotene than the green bell peppers. They are also the sweetest of all the bell peppers; green, yellow and even orange.

This Bell Pepper and Goat Cheese Strata is classified as an American dish, but the chef that first made it, Alessandro Stratta, is half Italian and half French. Hence the name Strata.

Strata in the Webster dictionary means a dish made with bread, cheese and eggs, the rest of the ingredients can be whatever you decide, such as spinach, sausage, ham, zucchini or kale. I’ve decided to keep it simple with just bell peppers and goat cheese that you can make substitutions with your own take on this recipe. I’m also going to have 4 servings instead of 8. If you need more than double some of the ingredients, which I’ll indicate with a *.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil + some extra for brushing the pan (or a nonstick cooking spray)
4 large eggs*
1/2 cup milk*
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese *
Salt and pepper, to taste
4-6 oz baguettes or French bread, cubed or torn into bite size pieces (*8 oz for 8 servings)
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced*
1/8 cup dried thyme*
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese*

Directions:

In a medium size bowl combine the eggs, cheese, milk and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add in your bread and mix well to coat. Transfer to a greased 9x9 baking dish. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight, this will allow the bread to soak in the liquid.

Preheat the oven to 400F. In a skillet add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil on med/high heat. When hot add in the red peppers, onions and season with the thyme, salt and pepper. Sauté until the onions become translucent, about 8-10 minutes.

Spread the bell pepper mixture evenly over the bread and sprinkle with the crumbled goat cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is puffed and brown and the center is firm. Let sit 5 minutes to set the eggs and cool down a bit before slicing. Yum Yum!