Impress with this delicious starter - Strata is likened to a savoury bread and butter pudding that can be prepared ahead. Served with a fresh tomato salad.
300g (11oz) mature Cheddar or vegetarian cheese, grated
12 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
900ml (1⁄2 pint) whole milk
4Tbsp. chives, finely chopped
250g (9oz) frozen peas
150g (5oz) soft vegetarian goat's cheese, torn
1 small onion, finely sliced
1Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1⁄4 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp sugar
550g (11⁄4lb) mixed or heritage tomatoes, sliced
Directions
Step 1
Grease 6 x 300ml (10fl oz) gratin dishes. In a pan of boiling water, blanch asparagus for 1min, drain, and plunge into iced water to refresh. Drain again, toss in 1tbsp olive oil and set aside.
Step 2
Divide ciabatta among gratin dishes. Scatter with 1⁄3 of Cheddar.
Step 3
Whisk together eggs and milk with plenty of seasoning. Stir in 3tbsp chives. Divide half egg mixture among each of dishes. Scatter over asparagus ends, another 1⁄3 of the Cheddar, and half the peas. Set aside for 10min for bread to soak up egg mixture. Scatter over remaining Cheddar and peas, then poke in the asparagus tips. Pour over remaining egg mixture and dot with goat's cheese. Set aside for at least an hour to let ciabatta soak up egg mixture.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Bake in middle of oven for 30-35min until just set, puffed and golden.
Step 5
Meanwhile, mix onion with red wine vinegar, salt and sugar. Set aside. Arrange tomatoes on a serving plate. Just before serving, whisk remaining oil with onion mix, check seasoning and sprinkle on tomatoes. Scatter over remaining chives. Serve strata immediately with tomato salad.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
