sunday brunch; cornbread

o loves cornbread. 
or correction he loves the cornbread that ottolenghi serves. their's is light and has a loose crumb with a hint of red chilli.

i decided to make some at home. there was nothing delicate and light about mine. it has a dense crumb and is very wholesome and filling. i shied away from adding any savoury and spicy elements to it because i wanted to be able to teem it up with different sides. o and m had their's with a cheese and dill omelette and baked beans. i had mine with honey cream cheese.  i am thinking it would be nice with roasted aubergines and garlic cream cheese. 

the recipe i used is an amalgamation of a number of recipes. i upped the cornmeal content reducing the flour accordingly. to make cornbread at home here is what you need -

1 and a 1/4 cups coarse corn meal

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 a teaspoon salt

1/2 a teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

4 tablespoons sugar or honey or brown sugar

an egg

one and a half cups buttermilk* [to make buttermilk at home add a tablespoon of lemon juice per cup of milk and let stand for five minutes]

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or unsalted melted butter 

place all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix together to ensure that the baking powder and baking soda are well incorporated.

whisk the egg lightly then add the oil or butter and the buttermilk. add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until no steaks remain.

pour into a lightly greased nine inch cake or pie pan (square or round) and bake at 200 degrees celsius for 25 - 28 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. the corn bread should shrink from the sides and turn a golden brown on top.

let it cool slightly before cutting into slices and tucking in.