Cheese, Red Pepper and Mushroom Strata

Preparation time is 25 minutes, cooking time 60 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter – (60ml)
• 1 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced – (500grams)
• 1 red pepper, roasted & peeled
• 12 slices of 1-inch pieces egg bread
• 2 ¼ cups whole milk – (560ml)
• 1 ½ cups cream – (375ml)
• 5 large eggs
• ¾ cup fresh chives, chopped – (175ml)
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped thyme – (30ml)
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt – (7.5ml)
• ¾ ground black pepper – (175ml)
• 2 ½ cups goat cheese – (9oz)
• 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan cheese – (4oz)
• 1 cup grated Fontina cheese – (4oz)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Butter a 3 x 9 glass baking dish and set aside.   Melt butter in a medium sized skillet.  Add slice mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Season with salt and pepper and let cool.
3. Add sliced, roasted and peeled red peppers to cooled mushrooms.
4. Submerge egg bread cubes in a large bowl of milk.  The egg bread should absorb all the milk.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, eggs, chives, thyme and garlic also add the striped thyme.  Season with salt, pepper and add crumbled goat cheese and whisk together until fully incorporated. .
6. In the buttered glass dish a lay half of bread mixture down and don’t worry if it does not fill the entire base. Top with a layer of mushrooms, add grated Fontina and parmesan and finely the half and half mixture. Repeat layering process using the remaining ingredients.
7. Bake mushroom and cheese strata uncovered for 1 hour or until golden brown and firm in the middle.
8. Serve and enjoy!