I hope everyone had a Happy Mother’s Day last Sunday. My lovely mom lives out west, in British Columbia, so she couldn’t join us for brunch. But we did enjoy an always amusing Skype call. Maybe she’ll be joining us next year?
For the past few years, we do a Mother’s Day brunch over at D & V’s. They have a gorgeous sun room and have a knack for setting a beautiful table. V made amazing pecan scones with homemade cinnamon whipped cream. I honestly couldn’t eat enough of them, and will have to try making them sometime. Also on the menu were fresh fruit smoothies, a delightful fruit bowl, toast, coffee, tea and my spring strata.
I made a twist on the Mediterranean Cheese Pie that I made last year. It came out more like an egg and potato lasagna so I think it was more deserving of the strata name than a pie. That and it wasn’t baked in a pie pan.
It had layers of ricotta cheese, mushroom and eggs interspersed between pillowy yellow potatoes. It was quite tasty and I would definitely make it again. It’s always nice when your thrown together recipe comes together so nicely.
A take on this Meditteranean Vegetable-Cheese Pie.
Ingredients:
- extra virgin olive oil
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced (I used yellow flesh potatoes)
- 10 oz baby spinach
- 3 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used mini bella mushrooms)
- 5 eggs
- 3/4 cup liquid egg white
- 2 cups light ricotta cheese
- fresh basil (or frozen)
- parmesan cheese, shredded
- sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and coat a 9×13 baking pan with some olive oil.
- Add all the sliced potatoes and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Mix well and bake for 15 minutes. Once finished baking, stir potatoes again and set aside.
- While baking, heat a large pan with a little oil. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Let cook until tender, around 6-8 minutes. Then add all the spinach to the pan and cover. Let wilt, usually about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs, egg whites and a little water. Mix in the ricotta and parmesan cheese. Add a few handfuls of basil and combine.
- Place the mushroom and spinach mixture over the potatoes in the baking pan and then pour over the egg mixture.
- Bake for about 40-60 minutes or until the strata is golden brown and the egg is set. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes, then serve.
