Spinach and Gruyere Make Ahead Casserole

Have you got friends or family staying over for the holidays? Want to serve a breakfast that's a bit more interesting than cereal or bagels and cream cheese? Try this easy-to-make dish that can be (and should be) assembled the night before you bake it. Remove it from the fridge in the morning, pop it into the oven while you open Christmas gifts, and you'll have a hearty, delicious breakfast ready by the time you're finished unwrapping that last package. I remember making something similar to this in the 1970s, when people referred to it as a "strata." Whatever you call it, it's filled with eggy and cheesy goodness. If you want to gild the lily, you can always add some cooked sausage or bacon to the casserole. Or keep it just as is for your vegetarian family and friends. Merry Christmas readers.

Serve it piping hot from the oven, or even at room temperature. Leftovers are great reheated in the microwave too.

Spinach And Gruyere Casserole

(From The New York Times)

• 8ounces baguette or other crusty bread, cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
• 6tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), more as needed
• 2leeks, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced into half-moons
• 10ounces fresh spinach
• ¼teaspoon grated nutmeg
• large pinch of ground cayenne
• 1teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2tablespoons dry vermouth or white wine
• 8large eggs
• 2cups half-and-half (or use a mix of milk and heavy cream)
• ½teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 4ounces Gruyère, grated (2 cups)
• ¾cup grated Parmesan

1. Step 1

   Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or a large gratin dish.

2. Step 2

   Spread baguette cubes on a baking sheet. Bake until crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer cubes to a large bowl and toss with 4 tablespoons melted butter and a pinch of salt.

3. Step 3

   Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add leeks and a pinch of salt, and sauté until tender and lightly golden, about 5 minutes.

4. Step 4

   Stir in about half of the spinach leaves, a pinch of salt, nutmeg, cayenne and lemon zest, and stir until wilted, about 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in remaining spinach and another pinch of salt. Sauté until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in the vermouth and let cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the pan looks dry. Taste and add more salt if needed. Let spinach cool.

5. Step 5

   In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Add mixture to the baguette, tossing well. Add spinach, 1¾ cups Gruyère and ½ cup Parmesan, and toss everything until mixed (your hands work well for this).

6. Step 6

   Pour mixture into prepared baking dish, cover, and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

   
   

   
   

7. Step 7

   When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover and top casserole with remaining ¼ cup grated Gruyère and ¼ cup grated Parmesan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the center is set and no longer liquidy (it might puff, and that’s fine). Let sit for 10 to 20 minutes before serving.

Caramelized Onion Potato Tart

 

This is one of those recipes with a few humble ingredients that combined together, form an intense blast of flavor that you'll find hard to resist. How can you go wrong when caramelized onions meet potatoes and gruyere cheese? Place those on top of puff pastry and you've got a winner - whether you serve it as an appetizer (watch it disappear in a flash) or as the main part of your meal.

The hardest part of this recipe is caramelizing the onions. Actually, it's not hard. It's just time-consuming. It takes about 1/2 hour of slow cooking to achieve this golden goodness. Your house will smell divine. I always posit that realtors would be advised to tell house sellers to forget baking cookies when prospective buyers are expected - cook some onions instead. 

Use store-purchased puff pastry and you'll be done in a flash. Smear the mixture of heavy cream, seasonings and some of the gruyere cheese over the pastry.

Arrange slices of the cooked potatoes on top of the mixture.

The caramelized onions come next.

Then the gruyere and parmesan cheeses.

Bake it for 25-30 minutes and dig in. The recipe makes enough for 16 appetizer-size slices.

Or for four-five servings as a main course. A salad on the side helps complete the meal and cuts down on the richness of the tart. 

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Caramelized Onion Potato Tart

Adapted from Food And Wine magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 pound medium-size (about 4 ounces each) Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/8-inch slices (I used about a dozen small potatoes since that's all I had on hand, and they worked fine.)

• 2 tablespoons, plus 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons water

• 1 frozen puff pastry sheet (from 1 [17.3-ounce] package), thawed

• All-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups), divided

• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

• Black pepper

• Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in lower third position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place potatoes and 2 tablespoons of the salt in a large saucepan; add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high; reduce heat to medium, and cook, undisturbed, until potatoes can be pierced using tip of a knife but are still firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain well; let stand until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.

2. Return saucepan to medium heat; add oil, and heat until shimmering. Stir in onion and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften and brown around edges, about 18 minutes. Uncover and increase heat to medium-high; stir in  water, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of saucepan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring often, until onion is browned and caramelized. Let stand until cool, about 5 minutes.
   

3. Roll puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a 14- x 12-inch rectangle. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bring up the edges all around the perimeter, about 1/2" to form a border. Prick pastry all over using a fork.

4. Stir together cream, thyme, Dijon mustard, nutmeg, and 1 cup of the Gruyère in a medium bowl until combined. Spread cheese mixture in an even layer inside scored border of pastry. Arrange potato slices in overlapping layers over cheese mixture inside border; top evenly with caramelized onions. Top with remaining 1/2 cup Gruyère and parmesan cheese.
   

5. Bake in preheated oven until pastry is puffed and deep golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack, and let cool 5 minutes. Garnish with black pepper and additional thyme. Slice into 16 (3 1/4- x 3-inch) pieces; serve warm or at room temperature.

Spinach Gruyere Soufflé

Occasionally, I pick up the free magazine at my local grocery store (McCaffrey's, which is great, by the way) and there are one or two recipes that speak to me. This was one of them, since I had a piece of gruyere cheese in the fridge and a box of spinach in the freezer - two ingredients that would also make a fine quiche, but I didn't want to make a crust or use heavy cream. Besides, it had been an age or two since I last made a soufflé and it was a cold Sunday when I felt like creating something in my kitchen. I altered the recipe since it used the gruyere only on the buttered inside of the bowl, and I wanted the gruyere to be tasted inside the soufflé itself. So I sprinkled parmesan on the inside instead, and mixed in the gruyere with the actual egg/bechamel mixture. 

Making a soufflé is easier than most people think, requiring only careful folding of the beaten egg whites to achieve success. You could use a 6-cup soufflé dish for this recipe but I opted to use a smaller dish, and place a buttered parchment paper collar around the perimeter. It allows the soufflé to rise above the dish, making for a much more dramatic presentation. 

It was divine - so full of flavor, maybe also due to simmering a bay leaf, cloves and onion with the hot milk, so don't skip that part. It was light as a cloud, but heavy enough to fill our stomachs (along with a side salad.) I hope you give it a try. 

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

Spinach Gruyere Soufflé

Ingredients

butter to grease the soufflé dish (and collar if using)

grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle on the greased soufflé dish 

1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded

1 10-ounce box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water

2 1/2 cups milk

1/4 large onion

1 large bay leaf

2 whole cloves

7 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 large eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Grease a 5 cup soufflé dish with butter, then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Take a piece of parchment paper large enough to fit around the perimeter of the soufflé dish (folding as necessary), and butter that as well, then attach it to the upper part of the dish, tieing with a string. If you don't want to do this, use a larger soufflé dish, but the smaller one with the collar makes a more impressive presentation.

Let the spinach thaw completely, then squeeze out as much water as possible. Mince with a knife.

Simmer the milk gently over low heat for 10 minutes, with the onion, bay leaf and cloves. Remove the seasonings with a slotted spoon.

Make the bechamel by melting the butter, then whisk in the flour, cooking for a couple of minutes. Slowly add the hot milk, whisking until smooth. Let it cool slightly (I placed the pot into a bowl with ice to speed the process.) Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, to the bechamel mixture, then stir in the spinach and the Gruyere cheese.

Fold the beaten egg whites to the spinach/cheese mixture, but not all at once. Start by folding in 1/4 of the mixture, then continue until everything is blended. Don't overmix though, or you'll deflate all those egg whites and your soufflé won't rise well.

Place soufflé on a pan (in case of drippings) and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Check it after 30 minutes, and lower temperature again to 325 degrees to prevent excess browning. Bake for another 10 minutes and serve immediately.