I saw this : https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/02/cauliflower-cake-recipe-yotam-ottolenghi but I find cauliflower the most flavourless and textureless of all vegetables, and wheat flour, especially of the self-raising variety, is also not my thing, so I decided to experiment and make it a bit more flavourful and healthy.
Instead of wheat flour I used gram flour, and insted of cauliflower I used leeks. I added garlic and chili (of course) and used thyme instead of basil.
Glutenfree and vegetarian (but not vegan).
- 3 large leeks, 600 g after trimming, sliced
- Fresh garlic, to taste, chopped
- Chili flakes or finely chopped chili, to taste
- 1 large sprig rosemary, finely chopped
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 150 g parmesan, coarsely grated
- 130 g gram (chickpea) flour
- 1 tblsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 8 eggs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tblsp sesame seeds
- 3 tblsp nigella seeds
In a couple of tblsp olive oil, sauté the leeks with rosemary, thyme, chili and garlic till they start to collapse. Season with a little bit of salt and lots of black pepper.
Take off the heat, and while it cools off a bit, mix in the turmeric and the parmesan.
Whisk the eggs.
Mix flour and baking powder and baking soda well.
Add to the eggs and which to eliminate lumps. Season with a little bit of salt and lots of black pepper.
Line the bottom of a 22 cm round cake tin with a loose base with baking paper. Brush the sides of the tin with olive oil and coat with some of the sesame seed/nigella seed mix.
Pour in the leek mix, level, and sprinkle the rest of the seed mix on top.
Bake at 180 C until golden and set. Let cool a little before serving and eat the leftovers cold the next days (better the day after, actually).