Chorizo, Tomato, & Pine Nut Cake

I am verging on a cookbook addiction. It doesn't help, of course, that I work at a place which sells cookbooks. In an effort to curb my addiction, I've decided to start making recipes from the books I have before buying any more.

I bought Clotilde Dusoulier's Chocolate & Zucchini--a beautiful, fun book based on her blog--a while ago, but hadn't yet made any of the recipes. One, however, was always on my mind. The chorizo, tomato, & pistachio "cake" seemed the perfect thing to snack on with a glass of wine. So, when I was invited to a trivia contest last night, I decided to bake a loaf to take with me.

The original recipe calls for Spanich chorizo, a spicy dried sausage that's similar to pepperoni. I used Mexican chorizo, which is much easier to find, that I cooked in a skillet before adding to the batter.

And, since I can't seem to find shelled pistachios at any of my local grocery stores, I used pine nuts instead.

Chorizo, Tomato, & Pine Nut Cake
Adapted from Chocolate & Zucchini by Clotilde Dusoulier

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 1/4 cups unbleached AP flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup buttermilk (or plain, whole-milk yogurt)

3 1/2 ounces Mexican chorizo, cooked.

12 sun-dried tomato halves, packed in oil, finely diced

3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Butter a 9-inch loaf pan and sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the sesame seeds, tilting the pan to distribute them.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, salt, and pepper. Add the oil and buttermilk .
• Sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, stirring until barely incorporated. Don't overmix.
• Gently fold in the chorizo, tomatoes, pine nuts, and parsley.
  
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pan to get out the loaf.
  

• Slice when cool. This is really important! My loaf was still warm--hot, really--when I sliced it and it was very crumbly!