Tomato and Spinach Strata

This is what you will need:

For Tomato Sauce:
• 1 1/2 t. olive oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 28 oz cans plum tomatoes, drained
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 t. dried thyme or oregano
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste.
For the Strata:
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 onions, choppped
• 4 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. ground pepper
• 2 pounds low fat cottage cheese
• 1 10 oz. “bricks” of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed with all moisture squeezed out.
• 1/4 t. ground nutmeg
• 1 large loaf of good quality italian or sourdough bread, sliced
• 1/2 par skim mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 4 large eggs
• 1 large egg whites
• 2 cups low fat milk
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley

This is how you make it:

For Tomato Sauce:
1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy non-stick saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add onions and cook while stirring, until softened. About 3-5 minutes.
3. Add garlic and stir another 2 minutes longer.
4. Add tomatoes, bay leaf and thyme.
5. Cook over medium high heat, stirring and breaking up the tomatoes well with a wooden spoon or spatula, until thickened, 15-20 minutes.
6. Remove the bay leaf.
7. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
8. Let cool.
For the Strata:
9. Coat two 8 x 12 inch shallow 2 qt. baking dishes with non-stick cooking spray.
10. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
11. Add onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
12. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the onions are softened.
13. Transfer onions to a bowl.
14. Add the remaining olive oil to skillet, raise heat, and add mushrooms and sauté until the moisture has evaporated, 4-5 minutes.
15. Transfer to the bowl with the onions an d season with 1/4 t of salt and 1/4 t of pepper.
16. Line a medium bowl with a double thickness of cheesecloth and spoon the cottage cheese into the center.
17. Gather up the cheesecloth and slowly squeeze out the excess moisture.
18. Add the cottage cheese to a bowl with the spinach and mix with the nutmeg and remaining 1/4 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper.
19. At long last you can assemble the strata: Spoon 1/4 of the tomato sauce into the bottom of one of the dishes.
20. Arrange 1/4 of the bread slices in a layer across the bottom of the pan.
21. Spoon 1/2 the spinach mixture over the bread.
22. Arrange another layer of bread over the spinach and top the bread with 1/2 the onion mushroom mixture.
23. Top this with one half of the mozzarella cheese slices and then 1/4 of the tomato sauce.
24. Repeat steps on second dish to finish both strata.
25. In a small bowl whisk the eggs, egg whites and milk.
26. Pour half of the egg mixture slowly over each casserole, poking the break gently with a knife until the mixture has been completely absorbed.
27. Cover each and refrigerate overnight.
28. Bake it! Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
29. Bake strata uncovered for 40 minutes.
30. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake for 10 minutes longer until puffed up and golden brown.
31. Let stand for 10 minutes.
32. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, cut into squares and serve hot.

Notes

https://sisboomblog.com/tomato-and-spinach-strata/

All content copyright 2014 by Trevor Kensey and SisBoomBlog.com.