Spinach Strata

Put it together the night before, bake it in the morning. For a rustic strata, leave the crust on the bread. I keep a bag of roughly torn bread cubes in my freezer, just take out what I need when I need it. If you don't have any slightly stale bread,dry some fresh bread in a low oven for 15 minutes. Any good whole grain bread will work well in this, even rye. Don't omit the lemon zest, it really makes the dish! We do omit the oil drizzle to save a few calories, and we use more feta than the recipe calls for. I make this in a round 9-inch cake pan. Adapted from "Super Natural Every Day", by Heidi Swanson.

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1  lemon, grated zest only
• 2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling and oiling the pan
• 2  teaspoons dijon-style mustard
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  fine-grain sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2  cups milk
• 6  large eggs
• 3  cups  day-old 1/2 inch  whole wheat bread cubes
• 2  cups  finely chopped  Baby Spinach
• 1⁄2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1  teaspoon  chopped fresh oregano leaves

Directions

1. Rub a splash of olive oil in a 9-inch square baking dish (or equivalent). Alternatively, line the pan with parchment paper. Sprinkle the baking dish or parchment paper with lemon zest and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil, mustard, salt, and pepper with a splash of the milk. Whisk in the rest of the milk and the eggs, beating it well.
3. Put the bread in a large bowl and add the spinach and half of the feta. Toss it all together with your hands, then transfer to the prepared baking dish (you can also do the mixing directly in the baking dish if it is large enough).Very slowly drizzle the egg mixture over the bread and sprinkle the remaining feta over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
4. The next morning bake the strata, uncovered,on a rack in the top third of a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the egg is set in the middle and the edges are browned. You can brown the top a bit more under the broiler if you like, if you have not used the parchment paper. Serve warm, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with the fresh oregano.