Breakfast Strata With Spinach And Gruyere

8-10 (½-inch-thick) slices French or Italian bread

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

4 shallots, minced

Salt and pepper

10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

½ cup dry white wine

6 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (1½ cups)

6 large eggs

1¾ cups half-and-half

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 225 degrees. Arrange bread in single layer on rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry and crisp, about 40 minutes, flipping slices halfway through baking. Let bread cool slightly, then spread 2 tablespoons butter evenly over 1 side of bread slices.

Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and pinch salt and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes; transfer to bowl. Add wine to now-empty skillet and simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 3 minutes; set aside to cool.

Grease 8-inch square baking dish. Arrange half of bread slices, buttered side up, in single layer in dish. Sprinkle half of spinach mixture and ½ cup Gruyere over top. Repeat with remaining bread, remaining spinach mixture, and ½ cup Gruyere to make second layer.

Whisk eggs, reduced wine, half-and-half, 1 teaspoon salt, and pinch pepper together in bowl, then pour evenly over top of bread and cheese in dish. Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap, pressing it flush to surface. Weight down strata and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Meanwhile, let strata sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Unwrap strata and top with remaining ½ cup Gruyere. Bake until edges and center are puffed and edges have pulled away slightly from sides of dish, 50 to 55 minutes. Let casserole cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4 to 6

Nutrition information per serving: 547 calories; 276 calories from fat; 31 g fat (17 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 292 mg cholesterol; 930 mg sodium; 40 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 24 g protein.

For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit https://www.americastestkitchen.com. Find more recipes like Breakfast Strata with Spinach and Gruyere in "Vegetables Illustrated."