Crackin’ Cornbread!

I’m always trying new quick-bread recipes and I adore polenta, so I just had to try this receipe from the latest (Sept 2012) issue of BBC Australian Good Food mag. The loaf does not rise very high so is not suitable for say making sandwiches, but it was perfect sliced, cut in half and then spread/topped with bits & piecs as a savoury morning tea nibble with my lacemaking friends Mary and Margaret. The loaf came out looking exactly like the photo in the magazine – always a good sign!!

I will definitely make this again – lovely texture, nice and moist, and it sliced without falling to bits too.

Yoghurt Cornbread

1 cup plain flour

1 cup polenta

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

1/2 cup low-fat Greek yoghurt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 egg

2 tsp poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 180C (or 160C fan forced). Line an 11 x 21cm loaf pan with baking paper.

Combine flour, polenta, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk milk, yoghurt, oil and egg in a jug.

Stir yoghurt mixture into flour mixture, until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Sprinkle the top with poppy seeds and bake for 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted at centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool. Slice to serve.

Happy Fooding!

Polenta-Topped Turkey (or Chicken!) Bake

This is supposed to be made with turkey, but I could only find turkey mince or drumsticks last week, so made it with chicken breast fillets instead. I don’t think it makes any difference to the taste really, so use whichever you prefer.

The topping used here makes a wonderful crust and could be used to top any casserole type dish, instead of the regular kind of dumpling or scone topping.

Polenta-Topped Turkey Bake

1 tbsp olive oil

1 brown onion, sliced

600 gms turkey breast (or chicken), cut into 3 cm cubes

4 small carrots, peeled & diced

1/2 cup frozen peas

410 gm can cream of asparagus soup

Topping:

3/4 cup plain flour, sifted

3/4 cup polenta

pinch of salt

2 tsp baking powder

60 gms butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup milk

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and saute the onion and turkey until the meat is browned and the onion softened.

Mix in the carrots, peas, thyme and soup. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon the turkey mixture into a deep pie/baking dish, and spoon the topping over it evenly. Bake in a 190C oven for 30 minutes or until the topping is cooked and golden.

To make the topping:

Mix flour, polenta, salt and baking powder together. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Whisk egg and milk together and stir into flour mixture until well combined.

Serves 6

Happy Fooding!

Fabulous Foccacia

Here is how I make a great foccacia bread, to serve as a warm nibble before a bbq.

I use regular white bread ingredients and the dough setting on my bread machine. When the dough is ready, I place it on a floured board, cut it into two pieces and roll each out to a pizza tray sized circle.

I place one circle on to a greased pizza tray (line with baking paper works even better), then top this with a heap of grated tasty cheese (or use mozzarella) and some dried or fresh basil. I place the other circle of dough evenly over the top, and set it aside in a warm place for about 45 minutes until it has puffed up again.

I sprinkle the top with a bit of water and a dusting of polenta, and press semi-dried tomatoes and olives into the dough at random intervals.

Bake for about 25 minutes at 190C, covered with foil for the first 15 minutes, and there you have it – delicious, hot yummy pieces of bread to pass around and eat with your friends before dinner.

Happy Fooding!

Crockpot Spoon Bread (aka Corn Pudding)

Spoon bread is a misnomer for this dish really…..it’s actually a side dish, a kind of savoury corn pudding, and not a bread itself. Very tasty though and worth playing around with, as you can add whatever you like to the basic polenta/flour/milk/egg/butter mixture.

Southwest Spoon Bread

olive oil spray

4 large eggs

1 1/3 cups milk

420 gm can creamed corn

60 gms butter, melted

1/3 cup plain flour

1/3 cup polenta

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

cracked pepper, to taste

310 gm can corn kernels, drained

1 cup tasty cheese, grated

1 large green chilli, finely chopped

1/3 cup ham, finely chopped (optional)

Spray inside of crockpot with olive oil spray. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, creamed corn, melted butter, flour, polenta, baking powder, salt and pepper.

Stir in the corn kernels, cheese, chillies, and ham if using.

Pour mixture into crockpot, and cook in HIGH for 4 hours.

Serve warm as a side dish.

There are many versions of this around, mostly from US sites/cookbooks. This is the crockpot version I made, and I was very happy with it as a vegetable dish – makes a lot, happily cooks in the background while you are doing other things etc. The downside was that the crockpot bowl was a nightmare to clean afterwards!

Happy Fooding!