This was pretty good. I feel like it could've used a few tweaks, but it was a solid start.

The sun-dried tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, and mozzarella all worked well together. And I appreciated the generous quantity of fresh basil. But I felt like it could've used a few more elements. I think garlic and mushrooms would've been particularly nice.

Sliced cremini mushrooms would be good. Especially if you sauté them with a bit of garlic and butter first. But I think that small marinated button mushrooms or mixed wild mushrooms would be even better here!

Mediterranean Strata

Adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 250-300g bread, cubed
• 300-400g artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1/3 c. Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 125g mushrooms, sliced or coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped
• 125g mozzarella cheese, grated
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 6 large eggs
• 2 c. milk
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Grease a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
2. Place the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish in a single layer.
3. Layer the artichoke hearts, olives, and tomatoes on top.
4. If desired, sauté the mushrooms with the garlic and a little butter before layering them into the baking dish along with everything else.
5. Sprinkle with the basil and cheeses.
6. Beat the eggs with the milk and season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Pour the custard mixture evenly over the ingredients in the baking dish.
8. Cover with foil and let stand for at least an hour. Or transfer to the fridge and chill overnight.
9. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
10. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

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.