Global Holiday Recipe: Herbed Cornbread

Holiday Feature

Herbed Cornbread

Makes about 12 pieces

Like tomatoes, corn and cornmeal are new additions to the traditional African diet. However, they are additions that have been so gleefully adopted that it is virtually impossible to think of the cooking of the African Atlantic world without them. This cornbread uses canned corn (let's be realistic about what most fresh corn tastes like at this time of the year), a hint of jalapeño chiles, and a bit of thyme for seasoning.

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons minced preserved jalapeño
or other hot chile, to taste
1 egg
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons drained canned corn kernels

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the thyme, milk, chile, egg, and melted butter and beat for 1 minute or stir until the mixture is smooth. Add the corn, stirring well to make sure that the pieces are well distributed throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, place it in the oven, and bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Serve hot.

From:

A Kwanzaa Keepsake
By Jessica B. Harris
Recipe reprinted by permission.