If you have leftover stale bread and leftover rotisserie chicken, you gotta try this delicious curry rotisserie chicken strata. It is a delicious and super easy meal to make and packed with flavor.
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil and if you use uncooked meat such as ground meat, or chicken pieces, cook it here and break the ground meat with spatula to avoid clumping. Cook until they are cooked through. Remove from the skillet.
Don't wash the skillet. Add the sliced onion to the skillet (add oil if needed), sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sugar and saute the onion over medium heat until they are caramelized slightly and soft.
Add the sweet corn (or any veggies you use here) and spices and saute for another 3 minutes or so
If you use mushrooms, I suggest sauteing the mushrooms separately with a teaspoon of oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the mixture is dry
Combine the rotisserie chicken (or whatever protein you choose to use with the onion mixture (and mushroom if using) in a large mixing bowl
Cut bread pieces into large chunks, about 2 inches in size. Lightly combine this with the chicken and onion mixture, and 1/2 of the cheese mixture. Reserve another 1/2 to sprinkle on top
In a mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine thoroughly. Pour this into the bread mixture and just gently combine it a bit
Assembling:
Butter the 9 x 9 square baking pan or if you double the recipe, 9 x 13 baking pan
Gently pour the bread and egg mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses. Cover with aluminum foil and keep it in the fridge until the next day when you are ready to bake it.
Baking day:
Remove the strata from the fridge. Keep the aluminum foil on as we will bake with it. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). When the oven is ready, put the pan in the middle rack and bake covered for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes to brown the cheese on top
Serve:
Cool the strata on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving to let everything set nicely
Store:
To store leftovers, let the strata cool down completely. Cover with a cling wrap and keep in the fridge for about 3 days. You can reheat in the microwave until it is warm through
For longer storage, you can freeze it. Let it cool down completely. Cover with a cling wrap and then another layer of aluminum foil. Keep in the freezer for about 1 month. I don't like to keep it longer than that for the best result. Simply thaw in the fridge overnight. When ready to reheat, remove the plastic wrap. Cover with a foil and bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes or until heated through