Overnight Italian Strata with Fontina Cheese

Add the pancetta, sausage, red onion, and garlic. Saute, while breaking up the sausage for 5-7 minutes until the meat is lightly browned and cooked through. ([wprm-ingredient text="¼ pound pancetta" uid="1"], [wprm-ingredient text="½ pound ground Italian sausage" uid="2"], [wprm-ingredient text="½ medium red onion" uid="3"], [wprm-ingredient text="1 Tablespoon minced garlic" uid="4"])

Take the skillet off of the heat and mix in the spinach until it has wilted. ([wprm-ingredient text="4 cups baby spinach" uid="5"])

Butter or grease a 9x13 casserole dish or 4 quart baking dish.

Distribute half of the bread cubes in an even layer in the dish and top with half of the meat mixture as well as half of the cheese. ([wprm-ingredient text="1 loaf Italian bread" uid="6"], [wprm-ingredient text="8 ounces fontina cheese" uid="7"]).

Evenly distribute the remaining bread on top, followed by the rest of the meat mixture, and lastly the rest of the cheese.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the whole milk with the eggs, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, and black pepper. Whisk to completely break up the eggs and mix everything well. ([wprm-ingredient text="3 cups whole milk" uid="8"], [wprm-ingredient text="10 large eggs" uid="9"], [wprm-ingredient text="1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning" uid="10"], [wprm-ingredient text="½ teaspoon kosher salt" uid="11"], [wprm-ingredient text="½ teaspoon black pepper" uid="12"])

Slowly pour the egg mixture over the layered ingredients and then use hands or a spatula to press the bread down so it’s completely soaked by the egg mixture.

Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight but no more than 24 hours in advanced.

At baking time, remove the dish from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to 350˚ while the strata sits at room temperature.

Bake the strata in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until it is puffed up, no longer jiggly in the middle, and evenly browned on top.

Let the strata rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.