Winter Squash, Mushroom, & Kale Strata
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 2- to 2 1/2-pound butternut squash, or other winter squash
- Vegan Butter
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium-size loaf crusty artisanal bread, cut in 1/4-inch-thick-cubes
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 8 ounces silken tofu (soft)
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon himalayan black salt (kala namak)
- 2 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup roasted, unsalted cashew pieces
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Slice squash into ½-inch-thick pieces. In a large bowl, toss with olive oil, sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a baking sheet and roast until barely tender, about 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the skin and cut squash into cubes.
- Make flax egg: in a small bowl, mix flaxseed meal with 5 tablespoons water. Set aside to thicken.
- Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
- Melt 8 tablespoons vegan butter and brown bread crumbs. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt; sauté about 5 minutes. Add kale and cook until wilting, about 5 minutes more. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until the onion is soft and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes more. Add the garlic with red pepper flakes and cook a few more minutes.
- Pour in the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half.
- In a large bowl, mix the onion mixture with the bread cubes and squash. Transfer to prepared baking pan.
- Add tofu, nutritional yeast, black salt, flax egg, soy milk, lemon juice and cashew pieces to blender and blend until smooth. Add more soy milk if batter is too thick. Batter should be easy to pour.
- Pour the tofu mixture over the bread and squash. Sprinkle buttered breadcrumbs over the custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.
- Heat the oven to 325°F. Let the strata stand at room temperature while the oven heats. Remove plastic wrap and bake for 60 to 75 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. Strata is done when the filling is set and the top turns a deep, golden brown.
Inspiration: