Success: Domaine Saint Luc's Cake aux Olives by Patrica Wells

I just adore Patrica Wells.  I have been following her career since the late 1980s and have used two of her books as if they were my bible (Food Lovers Companion to Paris and FLC to France). These books not only have restaurant recommendations and food history but also recipes from the areas and restaurants she frequents.  Call me jealous, I would love her job, to visit all areas of France, eat and then write about it!  She is my rockstar of all rockstars.  She is the only author whom I have collected all of her books and read from them often.

She also offers courses and in fact some friends from Seattle were able to join her in Provence for one such course.  They sat down to a lunch seated next to Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) who is apparently a good friend of Patricia Wells.  They said that Ina was warm, charming and funny, but that Patricia was a bit stiff.  They made it clear that she was not rude, mean or nasty, just that she was not as warm as they expected.  Oh well, warm, cold or in between, I think she is AMAZING and so are her books!

So I had some friends over the other day and needed an easy first course.  So after much reading I decided to try Patricia's savory olive cake, titled: "Domaine Saint Luc's Cake aux Olives"

The recipe called for Nyon's olives, which as I am currently in California, I did not have available to me.  Nyon's are small black shiny olives from the south of France.  They are mildly salty and slightly bitter.  I was going to just pick up some black olives from Trader Joes, when I found some Cerignola olives at Whole Foods.  Cerignola olives are giant green Spanish olives.  Mild in flavor and slightly salty.

From Well's book, The Paris Cookbook, I decided to serve it sliced using the tomato sauce that she references from the same book.  Simple clean and easy.  I made the cake the night before and served it at room temperature on top of the heated tomato sauce.

Now I must tell you, the cake as it came out of the oven was HEAVEN!  Slightly salty but light and fluffy.  When I served it the next day I was worried that it might firm too much and loose the light fluffiness.  I was surprised that it did not, all of my guests commented on how light it was.  However, they also commented that it was a wee bit too salty.  I think this is because of the olives I used.  If I had used the Nyon's or even the basic black olives from Trader Joe's it might have been just perfect.  I did make the dish again for Michael and he loved it, we like salt.


Domaine Saint Luc's Cake aux Olives
8 servings
from The Paris Cookbook by Patricia Wells
4 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces (1 cup) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Swiss Gruyère cheese
1 scant cup black Nyons olives, pitted and halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
About 1 cup homemade Tomato Sauce (optional)
1. Butter a 6-cup loaf pan (preferably nonstick) and set it aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and stir to blend. Slowly add the eggs, whisking to incorporate. Whisk in the milk, cheese, olives and oil. Set aside for 2 hours to allow flour to absorb the liquids (making for a lighter cake).
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
4. Stir the batter to blend once again. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place in the center of the oven and bake until firm and golden, about 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature, sliced and cut into cubes. Or to serve as a first course, slice and serve with tomato sauce.


Tomato Sauce by Patricia Wells
Makes about 3 Cups
1/4 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
1 Small white onion minced
3 Cloves garlic minced
Healthy pinch Sea Salt
1-3/4 pounds Crushed tomatoes in puree
Several springs of parsley, bay leaves and celery leaves
1. In a large unheated saucepan, combine the oil, onion, garlic and salt and stir to coat with oil.
2. Cook over moderate heat just until the garlic turns golden but does not brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. If using whole canned tomatoes, place a food mill over the skillet and puree the tomatoes directly into it.
4. Crushed tomatoes can be added directly from the can.
5. Add the herb bundle, stir to blend, and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 15 minutes.
6. For a thicker sauce, for pizzas and toppings, cook for 5 minutes more.
7. Salt and pepper for seasoning as needed.
8. Remove and discard the herb bundle.


SUCCESS!