Savory vegetable and cheese loaf

Name: Savory vegetable and cheese loaf
Ingredients: 3 large mushrooms; 1/2 bell pepper; 3 tablespoons sweetcorn; 50 g telemea-style cheese; 4 eggs; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper; 4 tablespoons type 00 white flour; 6 black olives; 5 g parsley leaves

Appetizers - Savory vegetable and cheese loaf by Sanziana E. - Recipia

This savory vegetable and cheese loaf bakes for 30 minutes and comes out soft, with a lightly browned top. I choose firm mushrooms with closed caps, and I like to see the pieces in each slice, beside the corn, pepper and cheese; telemea, a Romanian brined cheese, adds a salty note, while the crumb stays soft and even. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 30 minutes. Rest: 10 minutes. Total time: 60 minutes. Serves: 4. About 165 kcal and 11 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

3 large mushrooms
1/2 bell pepper
3 tablespoons sweetcorn
50 g telemea-style cheese
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
4 tablespoons type 00 white flour
6 black olives
5 g parsley leaves

Preparation

1. Clean the mushrooms and pepper, wash them and cut them into cubes. Grate the cheese coarsely or cut it into small cubes. 2. Put the mushrooms, pepper, 2 tablespoons of corn and cheese in a bowl. 3. Beat the eggs with a whisk until foamy, then mix them with the vegetables and cheese. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper. 4. Gradually whisk in the flour until you have a soft batter. Pour it into a loaf pan lined with baking paper and decorate with sliced black olives, 1 tablespoon of corn and the parsley leaves. 5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes, until lightly browned on top. 6. Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes before cutting it.

Notes

Choose firm mushrooms with closed caps; very large ones may have darker gills, but they’re fine as long as they aren’t soft. If you rinse them, dry them well before cutting so they don’t add water to the mixture. Telemea can vary in saltiness, so don’t sprinkle more salt over the mixture without taking its saltiness into account. Don’t rush adding the flour: add it in a few batches and stop when the soft batter holds the vegetables. Next time I’d add one or two pickles, chopped and squeezed dry; I think they’d go well. You can bake the loaf a day ahead, and any leftover slices keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Serve it with a green salad with crisp leaves. As an alternative to telemea, you can use 50 g of fresh unsalted curd cheese; the basic version contains gluten, dairy and eggs.