‘The discovery of a new dish, does more for the happiness of the human race than the discovery of a new star’ (1775-1826: Anthem Brillat-Savarin)
This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi. He is a big fan of savoury cakes that can be eaten at any temperature and still taste good. This makes a great addition to the lunch box or a side to a salad. He notes that wrapped well, that this cake will taste even better the next day and Mr B agrees as he had it for breakfast for a few days running.
I served this as part of an 11-dish dinner party as an intermediate course with a mustard watermelon salad. It is a mix between a brioche and frittata. It has layers of flavor with the onion, rosemary, basil, pecorino and has a whole cauliflower on the middle as a secret surprise.
Ingredients
- 1 small cauliflower, outer leaves removed
- 2 tsp. rock salt
- 1 medium red onion
- 5 tbsp. olive oil
- ½. Tsp fresh rosemary
- 1 tbsp. white sesame seeds
- 1 tsp. Nigella seeds (can use black sesame seeds or cumin)
- 7 eggs, free range and organic
- ½ cup basil leaves, chopped
- 1.5 cups grated pecorino
- 1 cup all-purpose baking flour
- 1.5 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat an oven to 400f
- To prepare the cake, place the cauliflower florets and a tsp. salt into a saucepan of water and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender
- Drain and set aside in a colander to dry
- Cut 4 rounds from the onion and set aside
- Chop the rest of the onion and fry with oil and the rosemary until soft, c.10 minutes
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool down
- Meanwhile line the base of a 9-inch spring form pan with parchment paper
- Brush the sides with a little oil and toss the sesame and onion sides on the sides so they stick, set aside
- Transfer the onion mixture to a bowl, add the eggs, basil and whisk
- Add the cheese, flour, baking powder, turmeric, pepper and remaining salt
- Whisk until smooth
- Add the cauliflower and mix gently as you don’t want to break the florets any further
- Pour the mixture into the pan, spreading evenly. Arrange the onion rings on top
- Bake in the middle of the oven until golden brown, c. 45 minutes or until you can insert a knife and it comes out clean
- Let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing and serving
