I love stratas, savory bread puddings, panades--whatever you want to call them. A variety of veggies can be used in them, and they're a great way to use up that half a loaf of fancy not-sandwich bread you didn't get to finishing (not that this EVER happens in my house, so I just buy the day-old Italian bread from the local Kroger's discount rack).
This recipe is meant for brunch, but honestly, I love a strata at any time of day:
Sunday Brunch: Spinach and Gruyère Strata | Serious Eats : Recipes
1/2 loaf French or Italian bread (8 ounces), cut into 1/2 inch thick slices; supermarket bread is fine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 shallots or 1 small onion, minced
1 10-ounce package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
Salt
Pepper
6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) Gruyère cheese, shredded (Havarti, sharp cheddar, and Colby are also good)
6 large eggs
1 3/4 cups half-and-half
Procedure
1. Leave the bread slices out overnight to dry. (If you don't have time, you can dry them in a 225 degree oven for about 20 minutes per side.) Spread 2 tablespoons of the softened butter over one side of the dried bread slices.
2. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots or onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Cook until the spinach is heated through, about 2 minutes.
3. Grease an 8-inch-square baking dish with butter. (I used an 8 x 11 inch baking dish and filled it up completely, but it had short sides--only about an inch.) Arrange half of the bread, buttered-side up, in a single layer in the dish. Scatter half of the spinach mixture and 1/2 cup of the cheese over the bread. Repeat, making another layer of bread, spinach, and cheese.
4. Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the layered bread, spinach, and cheese. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and put a 2-pound bag of sugar on top to weigh it down. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Allow the strata to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before baking. When ready to bake, remove the sugar weight, remove the plastic wrap, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese over the top. Bake until both the edges and center are puffed and the edges have pulled away slightly from the sides of the dish, 50 to 55 minutes. (The center of my strata never really puffed, so I removed it when the edges pulled away from the sides of the dish.) Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes before serving.
Mushrooms, cooked ahead of time until the liquid is out, also make a great addition to a strata.