Savory Vegetable Loaf Cake

I'm working on eradicating my culinary preconceptions.  For example, the one that says it's fine to put vegetables in yeast bread, but you can only do it in a quick bread if you're using a lot of sugar as well.  This recipe from The Mad Hausefrau only has a wee bit of honey in it, to counteract any potential bitterness in the veggies.  This is a vegetable and cheese bread which happens to be made in the quick bread style.  Maybe it's the word "cake" that makes it weird, even though the oil and eggs do put it in the cake category.  I considered making this in a cake pan instead of as a loaf.

While I mostly stuck to the recipe, there are some obvious changes.  I swapped a fennel out of the garden for the asparagus.  I subbed in half whole wheat flour, then doubled the baking powder to compensate.  And I changed the spices because I had changed the accent veggie.

One thing I did keep the same was the red pearl onions.  They're not cheap, and now I have half the box left.  It was part of a larger, expensive grocery run that will be explained in the next post.  After working 44 hours last week, I can afford it.  If you can't, just buy a single red onion.

I do wish some of the veggies had been stirred into the batter, instead of all of it on top.  The parmesan-herb bread below is excellent.  Maybe stir in the peas, since they tended to burn a bit, and leave everything else on top.

1 Tb olive oil
*1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 C (about 6) red pearl onions, peeled and quartered
*1 C peas (thaw if frozen)
kosher salt and pepper
*1 tsp honey
*1 C whole wheat flour
1 C AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil
*1/2 C milk
1/4 tsp fennel seed (anise)
*2 Tb chopped fresh basil
*1/2 C plus 2 Tb shredded parmesan cheese

1.  Heat oil over medium in a skillet.  Add onion and fennel and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.  Add peas just to warm.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and stir in honey.  Set aside to cool while you mix the batter.

2.  Preheat oven to 350º and grease a loaf pan.  In a bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, fennel seed, basil, and a touch of salt and pepper.

3.  In a separate bowl, combine eggs, oil, and milk.  Beat lightly until mixed.  Pour into dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Be careful not to over mix.

4.  Stir in 1/2 cup of parmesan, then pour batter into loaf pan.  Spread to distribute.  Top with veggie mixture.  Sprinkle top with remaining 2 Tb parmesan.  Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, until toothpick test comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan 15 minutes before turning out to cool completely.  The loaf is easier to slice after it has sat for a few hours.  I kept it in the fridge overnight, cut all the slices, then wrapped it for the freezer.  A quick trip through the toaster oven, maybe with a little more cheese on it, is at least as good as a sandwich for lunch or tea.

Makes 1 loaf, about 8 servings

Difficulty rating  :)