This is perfect served with the squash chilli on here to soak up all the lovely juices, but it’s also good with a bowl of soup for lunch. If you want a vegetarian version, leave out the bacon but stir in two tablespoons of olive oil with the sweetcorn.
Ingredients
- 100 g diced bacon
- 250 g medium cornmeal (polenta)
- 100 g wholemeal flour (wheat or spelt)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 large eggs
- 400 ml buttermilk
- 200 g sweetcorn (freshly hulled or defrosted)
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/Fan 200°C/Gas 7. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the bacon until it’s crisp and brown. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and put it in a bowl, then pour any oil and bacon fat left in the frying pan into a 20 cm-square baking tin.
- Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and add half a teaspoon of salt. Whisk thoroughly to combine. Beat the eggs lightly, then mix them into the buttermilk. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg and buttermilk mixture. Mix everything together, then stir in the bacon and sweetcorn.
- Scrape the batter into the tin and smooth the top with a palette knife. Bake the cornbread in the oven for about 15 minutes, until well risen and golden-brown around the edges. Remove it from the oven, cut into about 16 squares and serve hot.