Wondering how to convince kids to eat mushrooms and kale for dinner? Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen has the answer. It’s an effortless one-pan meal if you have a cast-iron skillet, but if you don’t, just cook the kale mixture in a stainless-steel one, then bake the strata in a 13x9" baking dish.
Recipe information
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
13
2
8
2
1
½
2
3
1
8
2
2½
5½
2
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°. Toast bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet until beginning to dry out but not yet browned, 8–10 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Arrange mushrooms in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing and reducing heat if needed, until mushrooms are golden brown all over, about 2 minutes. Push to one side and melt 1 Tbsp. butter in center of skillet. Add leeks and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often and mixing into mushrooms, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add kale by the handful, tossing to wilt slightly after each addition, and cook, tossing often, until all of the kale is mostly wilted, about 4 minutes. Transfer kale mixture to a medium bowl. Let skillet cool slightly, then wipe out and coat with remaining 1 Tbsp. butter.
Step 3
Whisk eggs, mustard, 1 tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper in a large bowl until no streaks remain, then whisk in milk. Arrange half of bread in skillet. Cover with half of kale mixture, then top with half of Gruyère and half of Parmesan. Top with remaining bread and kale mixture; pour egg mixture over. Press down on strata with a spatula to help bread absorb egg mixture. Scatter remaining Gruyère and Parmesan over.
Step 4
Bake strata until golden brown and no liquid seeps out when a knife is inserted into the center, 35–40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.
Step 5
Do Ahead: Strata can be baked 3 days ahead. Let cool completely; cover and chill.
Leave a Review
Reviews (21)
Back to TopExcellent recipe to get rid of leftover stale bread and to feed a crowd! The recipe is super flexible: it came out delicious even though I was missing some ingredients. I replaced kale with spinach; Gruyère with Mushroom Oka cheese; and milk with almond milk. I was also out of parmesan, so I added some ham cubes to the veggie mix to make up for the saltiness. Even though I had 3 leeks, I used only one - it was quite big, and once chopped I had at least 2 cups, it seemed like enough to me. I also threw in half an onion that was sitting in my fridge. I do not own a cast iron skillet, so I used a Pyrex 9 x 13 baking dish that I pre-heated in the oven instead. I did not know what to expect after changing so many ingredients but it came out amazing - this recipe is a keeper!
Gabrielle G.
Montréal, Canada
11/11/2022
I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand except for the bread. But I did have a bowl of leftover rice in the fridge, so I used that instead. And it was absolutely delicious! The combination of flavors make this dish a real winner
Christine
San Jose , CA
3/10/2022
Oh, god, yes, it's just so good. This has gone into our regular rotation. There's something really lovely about slicing the garlic here. I especially love that there aren't many dishes involved, and they're fairly straightforward, mostly budget-friendly ingredients without too much waste or leftover stuff. Definitely flexible—sometimes we switch out a cheese, or use 2% when it's what's on hand, or throw in smoked paprika or parsley if I've got some to use, etc etc.
Anonymous
Washington
5/15/2021
Really great! I was looking for a recipe to use up frozen shiitake mushrooms I panic-bought last March, and since this recipe uses a lot of mushrooms I attempted to make it happen. I would recommend NOT doing that if that's what brought you here, too... I think that there is just no getting past how waterlogged they get and they're definitely the least good part of the recipe. As written, I imagine it would be great with either curly or lacinato kale. I also punched up the garlic and added red pepper and paprika because I am not making this for children. IT gets a super scrambly eggy texture with a crispy (not burnt) edge around the skillet, which is just great. I will have to try it again with fresh mushrooms as intended!
Bree
Houston, TX
1/24/2021
This recipe is super flexible, which makes it a keeper. I used about 3/4 of the leeks (still like....1.5 cups). Also subbed in about a cup or so of aqua fava instead of the eggs, and just whisked it a bit extra. It won't come out custardy like I assume it would with eggs, but it kept it moist and the flavor was still delicious, with the mustard coming through beautifully. Don't be shy about toasting the bread until it is just shy of browning - the drier it is the better the end result. Also splurge on good cheese - the smell will knock you over and the flavor brings everything together to perfection.
Ashley AI
Linköping, Sweden
1/22/2021
Yum! This recipe has been added to our list of go to meals. We tried this recipe during a month long vegetarian diet. It was the first time my boyfriend had tried kale. I have chickens so we are always grateful for recipes which help use up eggs. I would recommend this to anyone. We didn’t miss the meat. I followed the recipe exactly.
Anonymous
maine
4/7/2020
I love this recipe, I've made it several times and it's always a big hit. I do have several changes that I always make that I believe make a big difference: - use Maitake mushrooms if available, or some other tasty mushroom variety - add 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika to the egg mixture - brown ~6 oz of breakfast sausage in the skillet at the start, then melt some butter and cook the mushrooms in that. add the sausage back in along with the kale mixture between the two layers of bread The last couple of times I've used the BA's Best Breakfast Sausage recipe for the added sausage and it's been delicious (make the rest into patties and put them in the freezer)
burkejohn
San Francisco
1/10/2020