Serves: 4 to 6
Adding a French twist to this fiery, tasty treat from America’s southwest, this is a special side dish to make for a romantic dinner at home.
Ingredients
- 220g quick-cook polenta
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt
- 460g creamed corn
- 150g vegetable oil
- 2 large free-range eggs, beaten
- 230g soured cream
- 1 medium onion, coarsely grated
- 2 fresh Jalapeño chilies, seeds and ribs removed, flesh finely chopped (these can be left out if you don’t want it spicy)
- 100g mature Comté, coarsely grated
Directions
For the creamed corn
1Heat the butter in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat until it starts to foam, then add the onion and fry for about 12 to 15 minutes until the onion has softened, but do not let it brown.
2Add the kernels of corn to the pan with 125ml cold water. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to medium (or lower if it’s bubbling), cover the pan and cook gently for 10 minutes.
3Add the single cream, season to taste with salt and pepper and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes more. Stir in the Comté and leave to cool, then weigh out 460g of the corn mixture (if there is any left over, you can keep it in the fridge to eat another time) and blitz half with a hand blender or in a food processor, then mix it together with the unblended half.
For the cornbread
1Heat the oven to 190℃ (170℃ fan) and butter the inside of an ovenproof baking dish or cake tin that’s about 20cm x 20cm (it can be a little larger, though you may need to knock a few minutes off the cooking time as it will cook faster in a larger dish).
2Put the polenta, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and stir through a balloon whisk to mix it together and remove any lumps.
3In another bowl, mix the creamed corn, oil, egg and soured cream, then mix in the onion and chilies. Immediately stir this into the dry ingredients to form a lumpy batter.
4Pour half the batter into the baking dish or cake tin and sprinkle over three quarters of the cheese, then pour over the rest of the batter and top with the remaining cheese.
5Bake in the centre of the oven for 45 minutes until the surface feels firm and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool in the dish or tin for 10 minutes, then cut it into wedges and eat it straight away.
