Food Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Egg Dishes Monte Cristo Strata 5.0 (5,230) Add your rating & review In this rich and hearty dish, bread, ham and cheese are baked in an eggy custard; grainy mustard and tarragon add a lovely, vibrant flavor. By Grace Parisi Grace Parisi Grace Parisi a former senior test kitchen editor for Food & Wine, where she wrote several successful monthly columns: Food & Wine Handbook, Tasting & Testing, Flavor of the Month, Power Pantry, and Chefs Recipes Made Easy. Parisi has also been published in McCall’s, Redbook, and The New York Times, has written five hit cookbooks, and has appeared numerous times on national television. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 26, 2017 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: © Michael Turek Active Time: 10 mins Total Time: 1 hr Yield: 8 Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients Softened butter One 1 1/4-pound loaf bakery white bread—crusts removed, bread sliced (about 18 slices) 1/4 cup grainy mustard 1 pound thinly sliced Virginia ham 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon, plus more for garnish 3/4 pound Gruyère cheese, coarsely shredded (3 cups) 3 cups milk 4 large eggs Freshly ground black pepper Directions Preheat the oven to 375° and butter a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange one-third of the bread in the bottom of the dish and spread with half of the mustard. Top with half of the ham, 1 tablespoon of the tarragon and one-third of the Gruyère cheese. Repeat the layering, leaving off the last layer of cheese. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk with the eggs and season generously with black pepper. Pour the custard evenly over the dish, pressing the bread to absorb the liquid. Pat the remaining cheese on top and cover with a sheet of buttered parchment paper. Bake the strata in the center of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned around the edges. Remove the parchment and turn on the broiler. Broil for about 3 minutes, just until the top is golden and bubbling. Let rest for 10 minutes, then cut the strata into squares and serve. Make Ahead The unbaked strata can be refrigerated overnight. Suggested Pairing Fruity sparkling wine: NV Col Mesian Nove Cento Dieci Spumante Extra Dry. Originally appeared: December 2012 Rate It Print