Olive Loaf Recipe

Olives. You either love them or you hate them. I'm in the latter group, especially when they are fat green Mediterranean olives that have been marinated in pungent herbs and spices.
I just love going to the open market in France and stopping at an olive stand. Olive merchants over there are usually natives to some Mediterranean country like Algeria, Morocco or Greece. Their stands display huge arrays of marinated olives from hot and spicy to mild or bitter. Just about every herb and spice known to man is used to marinate these black and green wonders. Just one fatal stop at one of these stands and the gregarious merchant will have tasting every single one of his 30-some olive variety. No need for lunch after that stop!
Of course, those olives aren't really used in cooking. They are used as an appetizer. Plain olives, in my opinion, are, well, plain. So I used them a lot in cooking. A small dose of them can add zip to salads, sandwiches and spreads among other things.
One of my favorite recipes using olives is the following olive loaf. This has become quite the popular "cake" to serve with drinks in France. And it's obvious as to why. It whips up in a breeze and freezes like a dream. Make it now and have it on hand for the holidays. Goodness knows we all need a hand when it comes to preparing food for the end of the year eating marathon. Here is my olive loaf version.
Remember that this is an appetizer so serve it before dinner for great raves and reviews. Even my non-olive loving father will help himself to slice after slice to this loaf. The ham and cheese add flavor and texture, reducing strong olive flavor. Non-ham eating people can omit the ham from the recipe and still have good results.
Let cool completely before slicing and cut into half-inch slices. Then cut slice down the middle for smaller, easier to handle slices.
Olive Loaf

• 1 ¼ cups flour
• pinch of salt
• scant ¼ cup olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 oz. grated Swiss cheese
• 2 oz. green olives, chopped
• 2 oz. black olives, chopped
• 3 oz. ham, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixer, blend flour, salt, olive oil and eggs together to form smooth batter. Add wine, mixing well. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Pour into greased miniature loaf pans and bake 35-40 minutes until knife comes out clean when inserted. It will not be brown on top. Let cool slightly before removing from pans. Let cool almost completely before slicing.
Serves 8-10 as appetizer or at the apéritif as we call in France.

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