“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
— Audrey Hepburn
I love this time of year. While we had a relatively mild New England winter, it still feels wonderful to open up the windows, see the buds on trees and plan for spring’s annual rituals.
This year Passover and Easter are celebrated during the same time period. Both celebrate new beginnings and an opportunity to look forward with optimism and hope, while looking back to our childhoods with nostalgia and love. One of my most cherished springtime memories is celebrating Easter with solemnity at Mass in the morning and then everyone in the Sacco family showing off our new Easter outfits. I will never forget the new, shiny shoes my mother and father worked so hard to buy for all of us. Then it was off to my Aunt Priscilla’s house in Winthrop each year for breakfast of egg strata and Auntie’s special coffee cake, followed by a highly competitive Easter egg hunt. We carried this tradition on long past our childhood until about five years ago.
Once the crocuses and the Easter candy ads pop, I think of my mother and my dear Aunt Priscilla’s lifelong friendship, noting that when you plant love it springs up at just the right time.
Overnight egg, sausage & asparagus strata
8 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound bulk ground Italian sausage (can substitute chicken or breakfast sausage)
- 1 tablespoon butter, plus more for greasing pan
- 1 cup diced onion
- 8 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cups whole or non-fat milk
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano (optional)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (can substitute Swiss)
- 10 asparagus spears, (discard ends) cut spears cut into 1-inch pieces
- (Microwave on high for 2-3 min.) (Can substitute steamed broccoli)
- 1/2 pound white, whole wheat, French bread or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 7 cups)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with butter. Set aside.
- In a large nonstick pan set over medium heat, cook the sausage, breaking apart into crumbles. Remove sausage to drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter to the pan. Once the butter has melted, add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer the onion to a medium bowl, stir in the cooked sausage.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, Dijon mustard, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Stir in the cheese and steamed asparagus.
- Scatter the bread cubes evenly in the greased baking dish, then top the bread with the sausage mixture and asparagus.
- Pour the egg mixture over the layers of bread and sausage.
- Cover the dish securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.
- Remove the strata from the fridge, remove the plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Bake strata for 35 to 45 minutes, until the eggs are fully cooked.
- Let the strata rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
