Tomato Goat Cheese Strata

I also enjoy the email list from The Splendid Table, even though I have not yet made one of the recipes I've received. They sound like fabulous recipes, though, and this one comes from a cookbook that I plan to investigate:

TOMATO GOAT CHEESE STRATA Excerpted from Fresh Food Fast: Delicious, Seasonal Vegetarian Meals in Under An Hour by Peter Berley and Melissa Clark (ReganBooks, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2004). © 2004 by Peter Berley. Used with permission of ReganBooks.

4 servings

I like to describe this dish, one of my favorites, as a savory bread pudding with cheese.

6 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juice
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 pound day-old artisanal bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)
1/4 pound fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese
1. Set a rack on the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 450°F.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and parsley and set aside.

3. Place a 10-inch, ovenproof sauté pan or 3-quart brazier over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the onions. Cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the oil, garlic, sage, and red pepper flakes and sauté, stirring for 1 more minute. Add the tomatoes and salt and bring to a simmer.

4. Stir the bread into the tomatoes. Crumble the goat cheese over the bread, then pour the egg and cream mixture over all and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake until the strata has set and is golden on top, about 25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

LYNNE'S TIPS

If possible, taste a fresh goat cheese before you buy. You want one with full flavor, good balance that’s not overly salty, and a pleasant finish. Look for ones that are wrapped in paper instead of plastic, and if you’re lucky enough to find a good hand-ladled one, buy it. Good domestic brands include Coach Farm, Cypress Grove Chèvre, Capriole Farms, and Vermont Butter & Cheese Company’s Bonne-Bouche.

Use tomatoes canned in tomato juice, not puree. Puree often contains low quality tomato paste, which can give a metallic flavor to the tomatoes. Muir Glen, Red Gold, and Hunt's are excellent brands available in most supermarkets.

If only my family liked goat cheese!

Did I mention that I'm trying to eat vegetarian? I am only an imperfect vegetarian (that sounds like a good title for a blog!), but I'm getting there. I'm doing better at avoiding meat in meals; when I'm better at that, I'll try to cut back on dairy. Already I've had some success with sneaking soy cheese into dinner w/o anyone seeming to notice.

At first, I was interested in eschewing meat for health reasons. But the more I think about it, the more I'm disturbed by the ethical implications of eating animals. Many of these creatures are intelligent, have families, etc. For example, dairy cows are separated from their young and chemically forced to lactate to produce milk for me. They should be able to nurse their own offspring. If nurturing my child is deeply important to me, why shouldn't it be the same for a cow?

I must admit, I have had zero success at giving up dairy products. I like milk, and I don't care for soy milk or rice milk. And veggie cheeses are usually not great. But even if I'm always an imperfect vegetarian, I will keep trying to get closer to a plant-based diet. And I'm working to consciously acknowledge that my food is on some level a gift/sacrifice from other creatures.

Not to sound too "granola" . . . .

(BTW, in case the link above doesn't work, "The Splendid Table" is a newsletter from NPR's Weeknight Kitchen.)

Comments

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