Olive oil cake with rocket pesto

By the time you’re reading this, I am already in Moscow catching up with family for the week.

But before leaving, I made this savory cornmeal and olive oil cake, topped with delicious rocket pesto.

In fact, the rocket (or arugula) pesto may be my new favorite thing – I made it with olive oil, roasted garlic, and pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts, and I can’t use it in other things.

A slice of this cake is equally perfect with a cup of tea and as a side with a dinner salad or an accompaniment to your favorite egg dish for brunch.

Olive oil cake with rocket pesto

You’ll need:

For the cake:

• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 t baking soda
• 2 t fresh tarragon, chopped
• 1/2 t sea salt
• a pinch of freshly ground black pepper

For the pesto:

• 2 cups baby arugula
• 4 cloves garlic, roasted
• a handful of pumpkin seeds
• about 1/4 cup olive oil (add it in gradually)
• salt

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, yogurt, and sugar. Gradually sift in the flour and cornmeal, together with the baking soda and baking powder. Using a spatula, fold in chopped tarragon, season with salt and pepper and mix again gently.

2. Grease a cake or loaf pan with oil and sprinkle with a little bit of cornmeal. Pour in the batter, which will be fairly thick, and smooth top. Bake for about an hour, until cake has risen and cracked and is baked all the way through.

3. Now make the pesto: roast the garlic in the oven (just fold it up into little foil packets) for about half an hour. In a food processor, combine garlic, arugula/rocket, pumpkin seeds, and oil. Add the oil in gradually to see how much you need as you star whirring the pesto together. Puree, taste for seasoning, salt and/or add a little bit more olive oil, if necessary.

4. The cake is best served slightly warm, spread generously with rocket pesto.