Smoked salmon strata is the perfect breakfast, or brunch dish to make when you have overnight guests for a hands free meal. It’s ridiculously easy to put together, and the best thing is it can be prepared the day before and baked the next morning.
Loaded with smoked salmon, sourdough bread, cheese, herbs, capers along with some mustard and grated nutmeg and doused with a milk and egg custard. There’s no denying it’s rich, but isn’t that what holiday eating is all about.
It’s a crowd pleasing dish that we love to prepare when we have guests over the holidays. Whip up mimosas with some Italian Prosecco and fresh squeezed orange juice to serve with it, and you’re in fine dining heaven.
How to Make Smoked Salmon Strata
First up you whisk some eggs with milk, nutmeg, mustard and 1/3 of the fresh herbs then set it aside.
Butter your baking pan and spread half the bread chunks over the base. Scatter 1/2 the feta and cheddar, 1/3 each of the capers, chives and dill.
Next up sprinkle your chopped smoked salmon evenly over the top and then scatter with the remaining capers, the remaining cheeses, dill and chives over the salmon.
Spread the bread cubes over the top in an even layer.
Give the milk mixture a quick stir and trickle it over the strata. Gently press down on the bread layer so the milk soaks into it and scatter some capers over the top.
Next up you simply cover it and pop it in the fridge for 4 hours, or better still overnight.
Next day remove the strata from the fridge about 30 minutes before baking.
When you’re ready to cook the strata pre-heat the oven and bake for 70-80 minutes until puffed up and browned.
Serve the strata immediately while its puffed up, scattered with some dill sprigs.
Use a Good Strong Bread
A good strong bread is the important ingredient for this breakfast strata. A sandwich style bread is simply not strong enough to soak up the eggy custard. You will end up with a wet mess and no one wants that! Go for a crusty sourdough, Turkish or ciabatta bread and preferably a day or two old.
Smoked Salmon Offcuts
Look for smoked salmon ‘offcutsʼ or ‘trimmingsʼ which are invariably sold for a third of the price of premium sliced salmon.
Salmon offcuts are what we used to make this smoked salmon strata and because the cost is so cheap for a luxury fish we can afford to be extremely generous in the amount of salmon used.
In Australia, Coles and Woolworths sell Huon smoked salmon from Tasmania as ‘Salmon to go Deli Pieces’ which is terrific value at a third of the price of sliced smoked salmon. Win, win!
Make Your Own Strata Combinations
You can easily ring the changes when making a strata. Fry off some bacon and mushrooms and a little garlic and toss that through instead of the salmon.
Ham and cheddar is a great combination, as is spinach, semi dried tomatoes and mushrooms.
Ingredient flavours can adapt to whatʼs in the fridge. Think zucchini, corn, sausage, ham, salami, chorizo, olives, turkey, mushrooms, different cheeses, leeks ….Youʼve got the picture.
Keep the bread, egg, milk and cheese ratio the same and youʼll have fun coming up with flavour combinations that will deliver. Pairing flavours is a little like selecting a pizza combination. Just think what works together.
Stratas are also a good way of cleaning out the fridge using bits of cooked meat and veggies that work together. Just use your imagination and concoct your very own flavour combinations for an anything goes brunch dish.
Check Out Another Breakfast Strata Recipe
click on the link for the recipe…..Breakfast Strata
Breakfast strata is super easy. The perfect prep ahead dish for entertaining. Filled with chargrilled pepper, semi-dried tomatoes, bacon, pesto, onion and of course cheese. Breakfast strata is held together with an eggy custard infused with basil pesto.
Once the breakfast strata is baked the sides become all golden and crunchy and the flavours meld together. A winning dish for breakfast, brunch or supper with all the prep done. Pat yourself on the back!
Watch How To Make Smoked Salmon Strata
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Smoked Salmon Strata
This delicious, quick to put together breakfast, brunch or supper strata is made then popped into the fridge overnight ready to pop into the oven the next day for a hands free meal, all you have to do is pour the mimosas!
Recipe from Belinda Jeffrey
Ingredients
Egg Mixture
- 5 large eggs
- 625ml (1 1/3 pints) full cream milk
- good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons finely sliced chives
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped dill
Strata Layers
- 275g (10 ounces) crusty sourdough bread preferably a day or 2 old - see notes below
- 100g (3 1/2 ounces) marinated feta roughly chopped
- 100g (3 1/2 ounces) grated cheddar or tasty cheese, grated
- 3 tablespoons capers, drained
- 250g smoked salmon sliced (we used smoked salmon offcuts which are much cheaper than slices)
Instructions
- butter a medium sized dish roughly 25cm x 16cm x 6cm (10 inch x 6 inch x 2 1/2 inch)
- beat eggs in a large bowl with a whisk to break them up
- whisk in milk, nutmeg, mustard and 1/3 of the chives and dill and set aside
- spread half the bread into the base of the pan
- scatter half the feta, and half the cheddar evenly over the bread
- sprinkle 1/3 of the chives and dill over the cheese and 1/3 of the capers
- strew the smoked salmon over the herbs
- scatter the remaining feta and cheddar over the salmon
- sprinkle 1/2 the remaining capers, dill and chives around
- then spread the remaining half of the bread cubes over the top - making sure you've plenty of the crusty bits upright
- give the egg mixture a quick whisk and gently pour it over the top of the strata
- cover with clingfilm and gently press the bread to ensure the top bread cubes have soaked up the milk and egg mixture
- refrigerate for at least four hours, or better still overnight
- when your ready to cook the strata bring the strata out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature if using a ceramic dish or if you're using a metal dish you can place it in the oven straight away - see notes
- pre-heat the oven to 175c (350f) on bake, not fan forced
- bake the strata for 70-80 minutes, or until it has puffed up and browned - keep an eye on it as it cooks and once the top is golden brown cover it loosely with foil to stop it darkening any further
- to check if it's ready insert a knife into the centre and take a peep the edges of the cut should be softly set, if not pop it back in the oven for a little longer and check again
- you can serve immediately while it's puffed up, however it does sink somewhat the longer you take to serve
- serve with additional salmon slices, capers, dill, chives and pickled red onion if you like
- enjoy!
Notes
- slice sourdough into 1 1/2cm (1 inch) cubes - you could use a strong bread such as ciabatta or Turkish bread also
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 193Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 140mgSodium 971mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 15g
Nutritional information provided here is only intended as a guide.
