Cornbread

All Fall in every foodie magazine I flipped through I was greeted photos and recipes of delicious belly warming chilli topped with cornbread. Yum!

I already have a simple and satisfying go-to vegetarian chilli recipe, but I loved the idea of classing it up with a cornbread crust. So I gave it a go. The results were dismal. No matter which recipe I tried, the cornbread either got overcooked and dried out on top by the time the bottom was cooked through, or the top was cooked perfectly and the bottom wound up soggy from the chilli. So, I have up.

Instead, I honed my basic cornbread baking skills and simply serve a nice thick piece of perfectly textured cornbread one the side. Guess what? It’s still delicious.

So, where did I start? With Martha of course and her basic cornbread recipe. A couple tweaks were necessary based on the usual contents of my fridge. For one, I never bother with buttermilk, and simply substitute plain yoghurt which I always have on hand.  Also, for some inexplicable reason, I never have enough eggs left when I’ve planned to make cornbread (and by inexplicable I mean that I am constantly astounded by how many eggs my three-year-old will swallow for breakfast!) Finally, as per my usual cavalier approach to mixing ingredients, I simply toss them all in a bowl and mix all at the same time!

So, here’s my now favourite cornbread recipe that we enjoy alongside bowls of chilli on chilly winter evenings.

I’ve also used this recipe to make mini cornbread muffins – the texture isn’t quite as soft and crumbly, but that’s a good thing for toddler snacking on the go.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 CUP MELTED SALTED BUTTER

1 CUP ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1 CUP PLAIN YOGHURT – I use full 3%, not sure how the texture would differ with skim

1/3 CUP SUGAR

1 LARGE EGG

1 TBSP OIL – I use Canola

1 1/2 TSP BAKING POWDER

1 TSP BAKING SODA

1 TSP SALT

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl – making sure that no dry bits remain.

Scrape the batter into a greased square baking dish and smooth the top until level.

Bake until golden and just cooked through in the middle. Cool in pan for 10 min, then turn out onto a cutting board and cut into pieces as big or as small as you like it.

Prep Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 20-30 min