Layered peppers

When life hands you beautiful peppers, and when you have got milk and eggs and cheese kicking around in the fridge...you make strata.

Say whaaat?

I've never heard of strata in my life but a random search for a meal recipe that would incorporate eggs and peppers and a bit of chorizo turned up various ways of making "strata". They all looked like hybrid quiche/fritatta/bread puddings. But anyway they sounded tasty. So I gave it a try and the result was...yum! Spicy, eggy, filling enough for lunch and sufficiently fancy, I imagine, for a holiday brunch. You can try it with various combinations of ingredients -- some people use ham, mushrooms, different kinds of cheeses, roasted peppers, etc. You can have more layers. It's good warm or cold, so I'd even take this to a picnic.

Peppers and chorizo strata

What I used
3 slices of leftover bread (I used flax bread), sliced in one-inch strips
2 slices of bread, cubed
1 piece chorizo, cubed and sauteed, with the fat drained off
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
3 cups milk
4 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated sharp cheddar (you can use other cheeses, and a combination of cheeses)

Preparation
* Saute the pepper strips in a bit of olive oil
* Lightly beat together the eggs, milk, cheese and season with salt and pepper

Assemble in layers:
* First make a nice base using the bread strips
* Then sprinkle over this half of the grated cheese
* Add the peppers and arrange nicely
* Dump in half of the egg mixture
* Add the chorizo in a single layer
* Add the remaining cheese
* Add the cubed bread
* Pour in the remaining egg mixture, pressing on the layers to make them more compact (but don't overdo it)

Stick the baking pan (I used an 8-inch square glass pan) in the fridge overnight to allow flavours to gel. The next day, stand in room temps for half an hour before baking in a 350 F pre-heated oven. Fifty minutes to an hour of baking should do it.