Name: Asparagus, sundried tomato & olive loaf
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: Cuts into 10 slices
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 100ml olive oil plus extra for greasing; 250g asparagus spears each cut into 3 pieces; 200g self-raising flour; 1 tbsp thyme leaves; 3 large eggs lightly beaten; 100ml milk; handful pitted black olives; 100g sundried tomatoes roughly chopped; 100g gruyère or Beaufort, grated

Ingredients

10 serv.

100ml olive oil plus extra for greasing
250g asparagus spears each cut into 3 pieces
200g self-raising flour
1 tbsp thyme leaves
3 large eggs lightly beaten
100ml milk
handful pitted black olives
100g sundried tomatoes roughly chopped
100g gruyère or Beaufort, grated

Instructions

Tap a step to mark it done

1 Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Oil and line the base of a loaf tin (approx 22 x 10 x 5cm) with baking paper. Cook the asparagus in boiling, salted water for 2 mins, drain, then cool quickly under cold running water. Pat dry.
2 Mix the flour and thyme with seasoning in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add the eggs, milk and oil, stirring all the time to draw the flour into the centre. Beat for 1 min to make a smooth batter.
3 Reserve 5 asparagus tips and a few olives. Add the remaining asparagus, tomatoes, olives and two-thirds of the cheese to the batter. Pour into the tin, then put the reserved asparagus and olives on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 35-40 mins until the cake feels firm to the touch and is golden and crusty on top. Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.