A savory cake that’s like a pre-assembled sandwich, made with cured meats and cold cuts, cheeses, some marinated vegetables, fresh aromatic herbs and some salad leaves too, all nestled comfortably in a baked aerated batter that is almost like a dough and simply sliced and eaten at room temperature or even toasted and warm ? A fine practical idea indeed !
I have the habit of making us sandwiches every day for lunch when we’re home and not working. That’s 14 sandwiches per week and that’s fine but preparing a savory cake that can be as nutritious and perhaps more delicious requires a brief one-time effort but will last at least half of the week.
An average sandwich will weigh approximately 165 grams each. This cake is equal to 7 sandwiches yet richer because the dough is made with flour, eggs, buttermilk, olive oil and even the water that the mozzarella ball is packed in because all of the liquid ingredients will lighten this dense cake and the buttermilk (instead of milk) reacts with the baking powder (you can also substitute it with some baking soda) and create a lighter aerated cake with air bubbles !
In all, you’ll have 750 grams of dough (dry & liquid ingredients) for 500 grams of fillings of which I use equal amounts of meats, cheeses and marinated vegetables and I add lots of fresh salad leaves and aromatic herbs for a complete meal or snack.
Needless to say, you can replace the cured red meats with canned or smoked fish and use other marinated vegetables such as cured olives, roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, preserved lemon, etc. and prepare your own version depending on what you have around. Simply try to respect the ration between the dough ingredients and the fillings.
I’m not sure about the origins of savory cakes but it is a customary preparation in France, often made to accompany drinks, as an appetizer, when made in much smaller bite-sized formats or as a light meal or snack sometimes served with some soup or even more salad, but there’s already some salad greens in this one.
A recipe that simplifies your daily midday lunch-making task by cleverly combining the whole idea of meats, cheeses, vegetables, salad leaves, herbs and bread and rolls it all up into one ready-made preparation … :)
