Simmons mentions in the preamble to this recipe that she feels the leek is often neglected and overlooked as a vegetable and I am inclined to agree. Leeks are delicious, but I don't see nearly enough recipes that call for them! So, I was very keen when I ran across this one that layers them with bread, tomatoes, and brie in a savoury custard.

This is a very straight-forward dish to put together. The biggest drawback for me is the time required. You need to have the wherewithal to assemble it the night before and then it needs to bake for ~an hour before it's ready to serve. That's more advanced planning than I usually put into my mornings. That said, it was a nice breakfast treat (once the custard had finally cooked through and set). It's quite rich, so you wouldn't want to have it every day, but it could be nice as a special occasion brunch dish.

Leek, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Brie Strata

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• ~450g leeks
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
• 4-8 slices of bread
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground and divided
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 12 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
• 200g brie, diced
• 5 large eggs
• 2 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Trim the leeks and quarter them lengthwise, then soak in cold water and rinse very thoroughly, being sure to get all the grit out from between the layers. Thinly slice and set aside.
2. Melt the butter over medium-low heat.
3. Use some of the melted butter to grease a 9" (23cm) square pan or an equivalent sized casserole dish.
4. Add the leeks to the remaining butter and cook, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
5. Season with ~1/8 tsp. of pepper and 1/4 tsp. of salt and set aside.
6. Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of bread. Cut the bread to fit so that it completely fills the bottom in an even, single layer.
7. Spread the leeks out on top of the bread.
8. Layer the tomatoes on top of the leeks.
9. Add the diced brie on top of the tomatoes.
10. Finally, cap with another layer of bread, once again, cutting to fit as necessary.
11. Beat the eggs until foamy, then mix in the milk and the Parmesan.
12. Season the custard with the remaining salt and pepper.
13. Pour the custard over the strata.
14. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
15. In the morning, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
16. Uncover the strata and bake at 180°C (350°F) for ~1 hour. (It may need more or less time depending on the exact shape and size of the pan/dish used. Start checking at ~45 minutes.) Strata is done when custard is set and internal temperature of at least 70°C (160°F) is reached.