Adapted from: Gorman, Rachel Moeller et al. Cooking class: The Joy of Meatless. Eating Well. (Vol 10, No 3) May/June 2011. page 52.

My Comment: A casserole for the end of May? You bet! And this one was a good

 one. I tweaked the recipe to include soy milk in place of cow’s milk and, Ezekiel bread for the wheat bread.  Still delicious. The casserole sits in the fridge for at least 2 hours, so making the day before is suggested.

Ingredients

4 tsp olive oil (divided)
1 medium onion chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground pepper divided
1/4 tsp salt
1 15-oz container of part-skim ricotta cheese
1 10-oz package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 cups prepared marinara sauce, divided
6 slices whole grain bread (stale is okay) — see my comment
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3 large eggs
1 cup low-fat milk (see my comment)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 TBSP fresh parsley for garnish

Method

1. Coat a 7×11 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Heat the oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions first and then the mushrooms. You do not want to brown the veggies — just soften them (takes 4-5 mins). Season with salt and pepper.

3. Combine ricotta, spinach and nutmeg and add another 1/8 tsp pepper in a separate bowl. Set aside.

4. Spoon 1 cup marinara into baking dish. Break each bread slice into roughly 4 pieces, arrange half the bread on the bottom of the dish (don’t worry if there is not enough to completely cover).

5. Spoon ricotta mixture over the bread and then layer with a second layer of bread (use the rest of the bread here). Now scatter the mushroom/onion mixture on top of this layer. Top with mozzarella and spoon the remaining sauce on top.  The pan will be very full.

6. Whisk eggs and milk in small bowl. Pour this mixture over the casserole — poke holes (I used a paring knife for this) through the casserole (especially the bread) so that the egg mixture is evenly distributed and soaks into the bread and saturates it.

7. Cover the casserole with an oil coated piece of foil and let sit in the fridge for 2 hours minimum (overnight is okay).

8. Preheat over to 375. Bake the strata UNCOVERED for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake until puffed and golden – about 10 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley for garnish.

Serves 8. Nutrition: Calories 317. 15 g fat, 26 g carbohydrates, 20 g protein, 5 g fiber.