We love a guy in the kitchen, especially when he’s cooking gorgeous fresh mushrooms. They are a delicious plant protein that’s good for your heart, prostate and waistline, and in this amazing Manly Mushroom Strata https://bit.ly/2rdZSBQ, they’ll do wonders for your brunch cooking cred, too! #bacon #cheese #mushrooms #breakfast #onepot #bake #brunch #dudefood #realmeneatmushrooms
Manly Mushroom Strata
Ingredients
7 cups ciabatta or other hearty bread, cut into 2,5cm cubes
2tbsp butter or olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
225g Portabellini mushrooms, sliced
cooking spray
1½ cups grated Emmenthaler or Gruyere cheese
8 streaky bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
6 large eggs
3 cups half and half (half full cream milk and half cream) or milk
2tsp chopped fresh thyme
½tsp garlic powder
½tsp ground black pepper
¼tsp salt
Method
1 The night before you want to serve this, preheat oven to 175°C. Arrange bread in a single layer on an oven try. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn. Toast another 10 minutes or so. When done, remove from oven and place bread cubes in a large bowl.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add butter and let it melt. As soon as it’s melted, add onion and mushrooms to pan. Cook for a few minutes, until liquid has evaporated and onions and mushrooms are tender.
2 Pour onion and mushrooms over bread. Toss everything to thoroughly combine.
Coat a 33cm x 22cm pan with cooking spray. Pour half the bread mixture into the dish. Sprinkle over half the cheese and half the bacon. Add the rest of the bread mixture, then top with remaining cheese and bacon.
3 Crack eggs into a large bowl. Use a whisk to break the yolks, then beat them like they stole your remote. Add half and half or milk and beat again. A lot. Add thyme, garlic powder, pepper and salt, and beat one last time. Pour milk and eggs over everything in the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours).
4 One hour before serving, preheat oven to 175°C. Remove strata from the fridge and let it stand at room temperature while the oven heats up. Bake the strata, still covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.