I’m not very good at lunch. I’m great at eating it –I’m always hungry at lunchtime, and I like a full hot lunch whenever I can get it. I’m not very good at planning, making and serving it, though, especially to weekend house guests. (I often tell myself that we’ll just serve breakfast and dinner and let people fend for themselves at lunchtime, but this approach turns out to be hard to pull off in practice.) Mostly I feel like I either scramble to pull together something pretty ordinary or tackle something elaborate and end up spending too much time in the kitchen (and not enough at the beach).
Last weekend I decided to get organized and spruce up my lunch repertoire. Here’s my first attempt, a tasty savory loaf that I can make in advance and set out with a simple green salad at lunchtime. My inspiration for this dish is the luxurious cake aux olives at San Francisco’s Tartine bakery, a beautiful cheese and olive loaf that’s as rich as any dessert. (I can rarely resist a slice, but often feel like a nap afterwards.) This recipe from Patricia Wells is much lighter. It uses no butter and only moderate amounts of olive oil, relying instead on yoghurt for moisture. My test loaf never got a chance to cool today, so I think I better make two for Saturday lunch.
Recipe
(Adapted from Ham and Cheese Bread in Salad as a Meal by Patricia Wells)
Ingredients
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the pan
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup (80 ml) plain yoghurt
5 ounces (140 g) aged French Comte cheese, cut into a 1/4 inch dice
5 ounces (140 g) cooked ham, cut into a 1/4 inch dice (optional)
About 1/3 cup (80 ml) best-quality black olives, pitted and halved
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C).
2. Dice the cheese, olives and ham (if using).
3. Generously oil the pan, lining the bottom with parchment. (If you have a nonstick loaf pan, you can probably skip this last step.)
4. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, oil, yoghurt. Stir until smooth.
5. Add the diced cheese, ham (if using) and the olives. Stir just enough to combine.
6. Turn into the prepared pan and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Once it’s cool enough to handle, invert the pan and remove the bread.
Hide the bread. When you’re ready, serve at room temperature.
The bread will keep up to 3 days wrapped in foil.
