Autumn Squash Strata With Elizabeth Cauvel

As promised, the delectable Autumn Squash Strata recipe as seen at the orchard brunch with Poppy Barley! This one was created by my lovely friend, Elizabeth Cauvel, at my apartment the day before the event. It was kind of funny, two tall girls, tons of food and a honkin’ DSLR crammed into my tiny kitchen — but she cooked, I photographed, and we loved it. Here’s a photo journal of the process. Recipe at the end!

A strata is a savory bread pudding. It’s bread and egg based, so it’s great for brunch. And when you add pancetta (basically Italian bacon), it has “breakfast” written all over it. It’s rich and filling but not too heavy–and you can make it ahead, which makes it super easy to pull together. It’s also a blank canvas for creativity. We added butternut squash and sage to really get that autumn vibe going, but you can use any meat or vegetable you like–this recipe is super flexible. — Elizabeth

All ingredients provided by the Whole Foods at Lexington Green! Follow them on Instagram and Facebook to learn more about their local sourcing and community support projects!

Autumn Squash Strata
Recipe by Elizabeth Cauvel, serves 9

7 eggs
1 pint heavy cream
2 cups whole milk, plus more as needed
7-8 fresh sage leaves, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1/2″ square chunks
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
12-15 very thin slices uncured pancetta, cut into thin strips
1 and 1/2 loaves good quality brioche bread, cut into 1 and 1/2″ cubes
1/2 cup grated aged Parmagiano Reggiano, plus more for grating

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the squash with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, laying the squash in one layer on a baking sheet. Roast the squash for about 25 minutes, until tender but not mushy or falling apart. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature; reduce the oven temperature to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, milk, sage, parmagiano reggiano, and salt and pepper.

In a saute pan, cook the pancetta over medium heat, draining excess fat as needed, until the pancetta is crispy. Drain excess fat and set aside to cool.

Add the brioche cubes to the egg/milk/cream mixture, tossing together and pressing down on the cubes so they absorb the liquid. If they absorb too much liquid, and the mixture looks a little dry, add some more milk. You want the bread to be fully soaked in the liquid, but there needs to be excess liquid in the bowl for baking.

Add the pancetta and the butternut squash to the bread and liquid mixture, tossing to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a 9″X9″ square baking dish and top with more grated parmagiano reggiano. Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes, until strata is set but still springy to the touch. Cool slightly, cut into squares, and serve.