Cornbread as a Meal

In reading “Ottolenghi Simple: a Cookbook,” I came across a recipe for Cornbread with Chedder, feta, and jalapeños. It sounded delicious and I had most of ingredients on hand.

I made a couple of mistakes in making this cornbread, but it still came out wonderfully.

My first mistake was not realizing that the thawed frozen roasted corn kernels still needed to be heated up in the cast iron skillet to cook off the water. Not doing this added more moisture to the batter, which meant it needed a lot longer to cook.

My second mistake was forgetting to use the nigella seeds as one of the toppings. I have some and I was excited to use them, yet I managed to forget them.

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

Cornbread Batter

• 1 mounded cup of frozen roasted corn kernels, thawed (1 ear of corn, kernels cut off)
• 1 cup (140 g) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne
• 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/3 cups cornmeal (I used Pearl Milling Company Yellow Corn Meal.)
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of avocado oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

Toppings

• 3 1/2 oz (100 g) of feta, crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups (100 g) of shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 jalapeño, cut into thin rounds with seeds
• 1/2 sweet onion cut into 1/4 inch slices, root to crown
• 1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Other

• 1 tablespoon of avocado oil for oiling the skillet

Tools:

Large bowl, medium size bowl, 10 inch cast iron skillet, large spoon for stirring, whisk, knife and cutting board

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mistake number 1, I skipped this step, but recommend that you follow it. “Put a large (10-inch/25cm) ovenproof cast-iron pan over high heat. Once hot, add the corn and dry-fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring from time to time, until slightly blackened. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.”
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, black pepper, cumin, cayenne and dill into the large bowl. Stir the sugar in and set aside.
4. Put the cornmeal, yogurt, heavy cream, eggs, and 1/2 cup oil in the medium bowl and whisk together.
5. Add the cornmeal mixture to the flour mixture in the large bowl. Gently stir them together.
6. Into the batter, fold in the diced onion, chopped jalapeño, and toasted corn until just combined.
7. Use the 1 tablespoon of oil to oil the bottom and sides of the 10 inch cast iron skillet used to toast the corn. (I poured it in and swirled the oil around.)
8. Pour the batter into the oiled cast iron skillet.
9. Sprinkle the topping ingredients over the top of the cornbread. I put the vegetables on first then covered them with the cheeses.
10. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. (It took longer for me (1 hour and 15 minutes), since I added a lot more moisture when I added the thawed corn kernels.)

Notes:

You can replace the 1 cup of Greek yogurt and 1/2 cup heavy (whipping)cream with 1 1/2 cups sour cream.

Serve hot straight from the pan or let cool for 30 minutes and serve warm or wait and serve at room temperature.

If serving it the next day, warm it through in the oven just before you need it.

The cornbread also freezes well and is good up to a month.