In Sunday School this week we made those buttermilk pancakes that I posted last week, and so I had some extra buttermilk that I wanted to use up, so I decided to make cornbread! Now, the cornbread recipe on the back of the box is not too bad, I used it last week and it turned out ok. But just like with the pancakes, buttermilk makes your cornbread come out light and fluffy. (I didn't use all of mine still, though, so look out for more recipes using buttermilk in the next week!) Cornbread without the buttermilk can easily turn out dense and dry, but mine was moist and fluffy.
The recipe below is adapted from one I found at smittenkitchen.com, and there are a few variations at the bottom; some are mine, some are borrowed. For our Children's Ministry meeting last night I made this cornbread with goat cheese, fresh basil, and a caramelized onion topping. There weren't leftovers. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures before it was devoured, so the picture below is of the same recipe but with no onion topping, and its a lot "flatter" than the original because this one used less batter. The original was about twice as thick.
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| Basil & Goat Cheese Cornbread |
The Basics:
Prep time: About 5-10 minutes to make the batter, then about 30 minutes in the oven.
Good for leftovers: yes. Cover it with foil to keep it moist, and you may want to reheat in the microwave (without the foil!) to serve, but it was good cold too.
servings: 10-20 depending on how small you cut them
cost: less than $5 for basic cornbread; variations should still be under $10
Ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
2 cups buttermilk
1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons (.75 ounce) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (.05 ounce) baking soda
1 teaspoon (.25 ounce) salt
3 large (5 ounces) eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) bacon fat, vegetable oil or butter
The Process:
If you are using coarse/polenta-style cornmeal, you may want to stir your cornmeal and buttermilk together, cover, and let the mixture soak overnight to soften your cornmeal a bit. (I used regular cornmeal so I skipped this step)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the buttermilk and cornmeal, melted butter, and any extras you're including (see below for variations) and stir until blended.
Place the bacon fat, vegetable oil, or butter in a 10inch square or round baking dish and place it in the oven.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Gradually pour your dry ingredients into the wet mixture, 1/3 at a time. Mix well until the lumps are gone but stop there.
Carefully remove the pan from the oven with a potholder, and swirl the hot butter around until the bottom of the pan is coated. Pour your batter into the pan, place in the oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool at least 15 minutes in the pan before cutting or removing the bread. Serve hot.
Variations on a Theme:
Simplest: you can skip the hot-grease-in-the-pan thing by just spraying your pan with non-stick spray, but you won't get the crispy outer edge or the buttery (or bacon-y) flavor that goes with it.
Sweet Thang! Make your cornbread just a bit sweeter by adding 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons honey to your wet mixture.
Basilicious: For a delicious accent to both flavor and color, add 1/3-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil to the wet mixture.
So Corny! add 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels to your wet mixture.
Say Cheese! Goat Cheese brings a nice subtle tang to your cornbread. Let a 6 oz log of goat cheese sit on the counter for awhile so its nice and soft, then, before putting together your wet mixture, whisk your goat cheese in your large mixing bowl until fluffy. Then add your eggs one at a time, whisking and scraping the sides after adding each egg. Then continue adding your wet mixture per the recipe above.
Top it Off: Before you start mixing, saute 1 onion, chopped, in 2 tablespoons of butter, bacon fat, or vegetable oil, until they are well caramelized and brown on the edges. Once you've made your batter and poured it into the pan, pour the onions evenly over the top to create the topping, and bake as usual.
Don't feel limited to one of these variations; mine last night was sweetened, flavored with basil and goat cheese, and topped with onions. (the picture above is the same but without the toppings)
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