* Savoury Courgette & Cheddar Loaf

I got half way through making a pork and chorizo casserole when I realised I had no suitable bread to sop up the juices with. I could have whacked a few ingredients into the breadmaker and made a rapid rustic loaf, but it honestly didn't occur to me - the easy option never does... not until my kitchen looks like a bomb has gone off in it, and I'm left standing dazed and confused in the midst of the carnage, covered from head to toe in flour of some description, wondering whose bright idea this particular experiment was... and OHMYGOD WHY IS THE OVEN PINGING???!!!???

This is usually about the time that the dog deserts me. My ever faithful companion, who feels it necessary to lie right in the middle of my kitchen floor within my precious cooking triangle, so that I nigh on break my neck every time I move from A to B to C... decides that the entertainment is about to reach crescendo point... and she abandons me.... just slopes off and leaves me to cope alone with the chaos.

This is when I know I've been talking to myself. Loudly. The dog always disappears when my volume control goes on the fritz.

Though she came straight back when I sliced a lovely chunk of this bread off, warm from the oven and smothered it in butter.

I didn't share.

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Makes one savoury loaf

Prep time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 45 minutes

You will need

a bowl OR a kenwood chef/kitchen aid

A 1 lb loaf tin

Ingredients

300g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/4 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp fresh chopped herbs - whatever you like (I used sage, thyme and rosemary)

2 spring onions (scallions) - finely sliced

90g mature cheddar cheese - grated

***

2 eggs

60ml olive oil

125ml whole milk

100g courgette (zucchini) - peeled and grated

Method

Pre heat oven to 180c/160cfan/350f/gas4 - grease and flour the loaf tin.

Put the first 9 ingredients into the bowl of your chosen weapon (use paddle attachment if using a food mixer), and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil and milk and add the grated courgette to it.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry, and mix very gently until just combined and all ingredients are moist (ie, no obvious bits of flour in evidence). Don't over stir it. Spoon the batter into the loaf tin and even out the surface before placing in the oven. Cook for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when poked into the centre.

Eh Voila.

Leave the loaf to cool in it's tin for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack until completely cool... yeah right... unless you're me and just couldn't help yourself and ended up eating a third of the loaf while it was still warm - before it made it as far as the photography stage!!!!!

It was MUCH BIGGER in real life... before I'd eaten any. Dammit.

NOTE: This freezes really well, and only uses about half of an average sized courgette, so it's usually a good idea to make a double batch.