Savoury Zucchini Loaf with goat's cheese and olives

One of the things I noticed when we were in France this summer was that at almost every family meal, someone would invariably bring a cake sale, or savoury cake baked in a loaf pan. I had tried them before, but never have I seen such a variety and on so many occasions. In fact, I think the cake sales were even more prominent this summer than the ubiquitous quiche! One of these cakes stood out in my mind, Tatie Mireille's Cake Sale au Chevre, aux Olives et aux Noisettes. Mireille is a creative cook, her flavours are definitely Mediterannean, but she is not restrained by a single way of cooking. This cake sale was a perfect example, she took her recipe for a cake with ham and cheese and made it so much better with goat's cheese, black olives and hazelnuts. Her daughter also made me an amazing crepe while we were there with goat's cheese and honey, but that's for another post....

Last night was girl's night and A. had the most gigantic zucchini I've ever seen from her Mom's garden that she absolutely had to get rid of. She had already made a chocolate zucchini cake and was going to make another one and she couldn't fathom what to do with the rest. I gladly took some home, she even pre-shredded it for me! So today as I was working and thinking about what I should make for dinner after another boring week of pasta (our kitchen is in reno mode and I have been very uncreative as most of my things are still in boxes) I thought of making a savoury zucchini cake with nuts and olives. I somehow found my measuring cups and spoons and I went about throwing together this loaf with what I had in the garden and my cupboards.

Savoury Zucchini Loaf with goat's cheese and olives

Preheat oven to 350

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (if it's wet, give it a squeeze and drain the liquid)

1/4 cup plain yogurt (you can use goat's milk yogurt if you have it)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 eggs

1 Tbsp. grainy dijon mustard

Stir these ingredients together in a large bowl until combined.

good handful of parsley and chives, well chopped, or other herbs of your choice

12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

Add these ingredients and stir to combine.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

Sift into mixture and stir until just combined.

1/2 cup soft goat's cheese (substitute with feta if you like)

Crumble into batter and fold gently to combine. Pour into a greased and floured loaf tin. Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes and then invert cake onto the rack and cool completely. Serve in small slices as an appetizer. Keep well wrapped in fridge for up to 3 days.

Please be creative with this recipe, use it as a guideline. If you don't like walnuts, add hazelnuts, if you don't have parsley add basil. Add other ingredients, like sundried tomatoes or green olives. As long as you stick to the base, you can add and omit as you please!

Bon appetit!