Homemade cornbread makes an impressive side dish to any dinner, we make this every time we're cooking a big sharing meal with lots of people. The sweetness from the corn tastes amazing baked together with the plain yoghurt and polenta, we then mix through black beans for a loaded effect. Kids love this cornbread, if you're making it for them simply leave out the chilli and reduce the salt.
Makes 1 large cornbread & takes about 1 hour to cook
Ingredients
200g plain flour
200g polenta (we use Biona Polenta Bramata)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
200ml almond milk
100g plain yoghurt
100ml olive oil
1x 285g can of sweetcorn (drained weight)
1x 400g can of black beans, drained (or red kidney beans)
Large pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
Salt
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, fan setting. Line a large loaf tin or deep baking tray with baking paper.
2. Place half of the drained sweetcorn (about 150g) into a powerful blender with half of the almond milk and blend until a smooth liquid forms. Once the mixture has come together, leave to one side until needed.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, polenta, baking powder and a large pinch of salt.
4. Spoon in the blended sweetcorn mixture, the remaining almond milk, yoghurt and olive oil. Mix well until a thick batter forms.
5. At this point, add the remaining whole sweet corn kernels, drained black beans and a large pinch of chilli flakes.
6. Mix well before spooning into the lined loaf tin or baking tray and cook for 45-50 minutes until cooked through and golden on top. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean - if not, cover with foil and cook for 5-10 more minutes.
7. Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool to room temperature before cutting into pieces.