Wild Mushroom, Asparagus, Ham and Italian White Truffle Strata
The Strata was popularized in the iconic 1984 Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook as an alternative to quiche or frittata. It's just a layered savory bread pudding. The earliest known recipe is from 1902 for cheese strata, but that recipe had no eggs. The strata can be a main course or side dish depending on your needs. It's delicious warm, or even at room temperature.
Servings 8 people
Equipment
- chef knife
- cutting board
- measuring cups and spoons
- large mixing bowl
- stand mixer or hand whisk
- 9x12 casserole dish
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp white truffle butter separated in half
- 1 lb asparagus cut into one-inch pieces
- 2 cups ham, cubed about 3/4 lbs of ham
- 8 oz mushrooms, any wild variety will do or substitute crimini (Oyster, Hen of the Woods, White Beech)
- 1 tsp white pepper, ground
- 1 cup white onion, medium, minced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
- 9 whole eggs, beaten
- 9 slices Texas Toast or thick 1" slice white bread
- 1 cup white cheddar, shredded
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups milk or half and half
- To taste sea salt
- To taste black pepper, coarse grind
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to (350°F or 175°C).
- Prepare a 9x10 casserole dish by buttering well, with½2 half of the Italian white truffle butter.
- Remove the woody bottom of the asparagus and cut the spears into 1" pieces.
- Cut the ham into ½" slices and cube the slices of ham.
- Clean and cut the wild mushrooms into large bite-size pieces. (Mushrooms will shrink when cooked.)
- Peel and mince the white onions.
- Remove the thyme leaves and discard the stems, chop the leaves, and reserve to prepare the fresh herbs. Next, remove the tarragon leaves and discard the stems, and chop the leaves. Reserve
- Using a cheese grater, shred a block of white or aged cheddar (or purchase the grated white cheddar) and reserve. Use the same method for the ¼ cup of parmesan cheese and reserve.
- Heat a large skillet or sauté pan on medium-high heat with the other half of Italian white truffle butter. When the butter has melted, add the minced white onion. Stir often and cook until the onion is translucent. Next, add the wild mushrooms with a pinch of salt and white pepper. Cook the onion mushroom mixture until almost all of the water in the mushrooms is gone.
- While the vegetable mixture is cooking, add nine whole eggs to a stand or hand mixer and whisk the eggs until they are smooth and the beater comes out cleanly without long strands of egg white. (You can beat the eggs by hand if you wish). Next, add the 1½ cups of half-and-half and whisk to incorporate. Finally, add all of the white cheddar and reserve.
- Once the onion and mushroom mixture has cooked, add the cut asparagus and thyme. Cook the asparagus until just done (about 3 minutes), remove the heat, and add the chopped tarragon. Stir the vegetables to mix in the tarragon. Allow to mixture to cool.
- Cut the Texas Toast or 1" slice of white bread into cubes and place it in a large mixing bowl. Pour the egg/milk/cheese mixture over the bread cubes. Using your hands, mix the bread gently with the egg mixture without breaking up the bread cubes. Allow the egg mixture to soak into the bread cubes for 5 minutes.
- To prepare for baking: Add half of the bread mixture to the bottom of the prepared baking dish. On this, add half of the vegetable mixture. Repeat with another layer of the bread mixture followed by the other half of the vegetable mixture. Cover the whole dish with aluminum foil and place it on the center rack of the preheated (350°F or 175°C).
- Bake the strata for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the aluminum foil. Sprinkle the top of the strata with the parmesan cheese, replace the aluminum foil and return to the oven for 30 minutes more.
- The strata is finished when the center is set but a little creamy. Allow the strata to rest for 10 minutes and serve.
Notes
For my Aussie and European friends, half-and-half is not available commercially in your countries. You will need to make your own, which (as the name implies) is super easy. Half the amount of cream to half the amount of whole milk.