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Savoury mushroom and bean cake
Recipe by Ursual Ferrigno
SERVES 6
Preparation 30 minutes
Cooking 1 hour

55g dried porcini or 100g field mushrooms
450g green beans (French)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
55g crust-less white country-type bread
100ml whole milk, plus 4 tbsp
5 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and very finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
4 large free-range eggs
25g ricotta cheese
4 tbsp mascarpone
55g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
40g dried white breadcrumbs, plus more for the tin

Soak the porcini in cold water for 15 minutes. Dry them with kitchen paper and chop coarsely. If using field mushrooms just chop them finely without soaking.
Top and tail the beans and wash them. Plunge into plenty of boiling salted water and cook them for just over 5 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water and then drain again thoroughly. Now chop coarsely by hand. Put the bread in a bowl, add the milk and leave to soak.
Preheat the oven to 180șC/Gas Mark 4. Heat half the olive oil, the garlic, marjoram and parsley in a frying pan. Add the soaked porcini (or field mushrooms) and beans and sauté gently for
2-3 minutes. Squeeze the excess milk out of the bread, and add the bread to the bean mixture, crumbling it through your fingers. Continue to fry for 5 minutes.
Beat the eggs together lightly in a large bowl. Crumble in the ricotta, then add the mascarpone, Parmesan, dried breadcrumbs and some salt and pepper. Add the 4 tbsp of milk. Now add the contents of the frying pan to the cheese bowl and mix thoroughly. Taste and check the seasoning.
Grease a 20cm springform cake tin with a little of the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with enough breadcrumbs to cover the surface. Spoon the bean mixture into the prepared tin and pour over the remaining olive oil in a thin stream. Bake for about 40 minutes. Allow to cool in the tin. Serve warm or cold.

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