Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Skillet Cornbread with Gruyere and Chives


Our free subscription to Gourmet (who are you, wonderful secret admirer?) is seriously the best thing ever. The second seriously best thing ever is our latest favorite cheese, gruyere. Combine these two and you get our doctored version of the cornbread in the Thanksgiving issue--personalized with some gruyere, yogurt instead of buttermilk, chives from the farmer's market, slightly less butter and, as usual, agave instead of the sugar.

Between the cornmeal, egg and yogurt, this is complete protein, and a leftover wedge makes a fantastic breakfast on the go. Also, try some as an accompaniment to bean dishes and hearty stews--this was delicious with the leftover frijoles con todo from lunch at Tacubaya.

Finally, an unrelated public service announcement: Manzanita Restaurant, which we heart because it always has kale on the menu, has re-instated dinner service on Fridays and Saturdays. Bay Area readers, please take note and take advantage!

Adapted from Gourmet

1 and 1/2
cups cornmeal
1 tablespoon agave nectar
3/4 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2
large eggs
1 3/4
cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup grated gruyere cheese
2 tablespoons minced chives
3 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a medium-sized cast-iron skillet in the oven to heat up for 10 minutes while you get everything else ready.

Stir together dry ingredients and beat together eggs, yogurt, gruyere and chives in a large bowl. Get out your thickest potholder and remove the skillet from the oven. Put the butter in the skillet, tilting it so the butter melts and coats the bottom and sides. Pour the butter into the wet mixture and stir quickly, then add dry ingredients and mix to combine. Transfer batter to hot skillet and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a butter knife around the sides of the cornbread and flip onto a plate to serve.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Is the "baking sugar" a typo? Thanks! Elana

I Heart Kale said...

Yup. Thanks! We meant baking soda.

Tim said...

Hi, is there a vegan option for this bread?

I Heart Kale said...

Hi Tim,

Actually, rather than modifying this one (which relies on a yogurt-baking soda reaction for leavening), you should try the cornbread recipe in Veganomicon--it's good and doesn't need any fiddling with to make it vegan.

Beeswing said...

What do you mean by Medium skillet?

I Heart Kale said...

A 10-to-12-inch cast-iron skillet would be ideal.