I wanted to try something new and tasty to bring to the SlowFoodDC Board meeting tonight. It was a grand evening with delicious food. I mean one cant really complain after an evening as follows – sitting up on the rooftop garden terrace of BreadForTheCity, chatting with a group of DC food advocates about food how we can promote its goodness! – sun setting in the background (on a particularly cool night for DC), amidst a hand-crafted spread of heirloom tomato + basil + peach salsa, local peaches and watermelon, blackberry pie from Mom’s in Leesburg, bean + avocado dip, and my savory bread. The recipe below is adapted from Mollie Katzen’s recipe in The Enchanted Broccoli Forest - I added jack cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, and left out the red peppers and cauliflower (but Im sure all versions are good). Also, it took a good hour and a half to prep and bake, so make sure you have some time to spare.
serves 8-10
Ingredients
For the Veggie Layer
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup of broccoli florets, broken apart into tiny trees
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 cup of corn, fresh or frozen
- salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
- 1/2 cup cheddar or jack cheese
For the Bread
- 1 1/2 cups white or whole wheat flour (or a mix of the two)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme, garlic, pepper
- 1 tbsp chia seed + 2 tbsp water (this is your ‘egg’, so if you wish to use an actual egg, you can do that)
- 1 cup yogurt or buttermilk (buttermilk=milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice)
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
For the Veggie Layer (Part 1)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a round bundt pan or an 8 inch square pan with olive oil. Boil a medium-size pot of water. Get strainer and bowl of cold water ready.
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat and saute the onion until soft.
Meanwhile, when the water comes to a boil, drop in the broccoli and carrot and blanch for about 30 seconds.
Strain immediately and then place into cold water. Let it sit and then pat dry with a paper towel.Add onion and the other uncooked veggies, spices and herbs to the mixture. Spread the mixture on the bottom of the pan and cover with cheese. Set aside and move to part 2.
For the Bread (Part 2)
Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and herbs. Make an indentation in the center for the wet mixture.
In a separate bowl, combine the ‘egg’, buttermilk/yogurt and melted butter.
Pour the wet mixture into the center of the dry mixture and mix carefully until blended (it should form a sticky dough).
Carefully spread the dough over the veggie layer and distribute as evenly as possible.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until bread is cooked through. Let it cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving. When you go to cut it, it seems as if the veggies are going to fall out from underneath, but the cheese actually allows it to stay on a good amount – but be careful (note: its not a good idea to be talking on your phone when cutting the bread).
mangia!
