Kale and Butternut Strata: 10th of our 12 Days of Recipes annual series

On the tenth day of recipes, we suggest you get (or if you're lucky - WIN) yourself a bottle of Well Seasoned's Extra Virgin Olive Oil, some Kosher Salt & Cracked Black Pepper to make...

Kale and Butternut Strata

After all the Christmas over indulging, a little kale for breakfast should re-set your system! This “strata” is giant casserole, perfect for feeding a crowd on Christmas morning or at your boxing day brunch. You can do a lot of the work ahead and it travels well if you are headed out and have been asked to bring a dish. All the health benefits from the kale and squash have also been known to cure a New Years Day hangover. Don’t forget to enter our contest before 6:30 PM on December 20th.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 2 pounds butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch dice
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon Well Seasoned extra-virgin olive oil *
• Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper *
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• ½ small onion, finely chopped
• ¾ pound black kale, ribs discarded and leaves chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes *
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped thyme
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 8 large eggs
• One ¾ pound baguette, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• *Available from Well Seasoned

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425° and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 25 minutes, tossing once, until the squash is just tender. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the sliced onions, season with salt and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 25 minutes. Scrape the onions into a bowl.
2. In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil until shimmering. Add the kale, garlic, crushed red pepper and 1 teaspoon of the thyme and season with salt. Cook over moderately high heat, tossing, until the kale is wilted and just tender, about 5 minutes. Scrape the kale into the bowl with the cooked onions.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the 2 ½ tablespoons of butter. Add the chopped onion and the remaining 1 teaspoon of thyme and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until a light golden paste forms, 3 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup of the milk and cook, whisking, until very thick and no floury taste remains, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream, sour cream, sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper and the remaining 1 ½ cups of milk. Let the béchamel cool.
4. Right now, if you stop = you can refrigerate overnight and continue with your recipe to bake in the morning.
5. Beat the eggs into the cooled béchamel in the saucepan. Pour into a bowl, add the bread and the vegetables and mix well. Pour the strata mixture into the prepared baking dish and let stand for 30 minutes, pressing down the bread occasionally.
6. Bake the strata for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until almost set. Increase the oven temperature to 475°. Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and bake for about 10 minutes more, until the top is lightly browned. Let the strata stand for 15 minutes before serving.