Cornbread is a staple of Southern cooking, and it made regular appearances at our family table when I was growing up. I don't remember my mother ever diverting from her standard cornbread recipe; it was always the same warm, comforting bread we enjoyed with beans and other foods.
Last week I planned to make a pot of spiced up beans using the ham bone from a recent Sunday dinner, and I wanted a spicy cornbread to go along with the beans. I used equal amounts of flour and cornmeal, but instead of buttermilk for the liquid I used plain yogurt, which gave a wonderful taste and texture. We only used one jalapeño this time, but I think we would use another next time for a little more kick.
I wish I could say that the jalapeños came from our garden, but we've run out of the stash we grew last year, though the scallions came from the pot I started in September and still have going in the kitchen. I just snip off the green part and leave the white in the ground, and they keep growing back. We're planting scallions in our raised beds this year, so hope to have plenty of them.
This is my contribution to Grow Your Own, a blogging event that celebrates the dishes we create from foods we've grown, raised, foraged, or hunted ourselves. I am hosting this round, so please send your post to me by March 30. If you are new to the event, you can read more about the rules for participating at the Grow Your Own page.
[Updated July 2014.]
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- medium mixing bowl
- 9-inch round cake pan, greased
Ingredients
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ⅛ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup plain yogurt (or buttermilk)
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- 4 ounces extra sharp cheddar (grated (divided))
- 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and chopped, or more to your taste)
- 2 scallions (white and green parts chopped (divided))
Preparation
- In the large mixing bowl, whisk together corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In the medium mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, and melted butter. Stir yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients until you have no more lumps, but don’t overmix.
- Stir in ½ cup of the grated cheddar, the chopped jalapeno, and about ¾ of the chopped scallions. Set aside for about 20 minutes.
- While resting the batter, preheat the oven to 350° F/175° C.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle on the remaining cheddar and scallions. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and serve.
Peter says
I love corn bread with the zip of some jalapenos. Ina Garten does a good one too!
Nate says
Thanks for this! I've been wanting to find a recipe for jalapeno cornbread for a meal that's coming up soon.
Do you think feta cheese would work?
De in D.C. says
I love your tip about planting the roots from store-bought scallions. I started doing this over the winter after you posted about it, and have been enjoying throwing scallions into salads, marinades and stir-frys. Previously, they were one of those vegetables I'd rarely buy since they don't last very long in the fridge.
Daniel says
Agreed on the scallions. I also imagine that replacing the buttermilk with yogurt will save you from a lot of extra fat and calories too. Thanks for sharing!
Dan
CasualKitchen.blogspot.com
A&N says
This is by far my favorite cornbread 🙂 it has to have jalapenos in it for me 🙂
kellypea says
Love jalapenos in cornbread and I'm thinking the yogurt is a nice addition here. I love the tang it lends. Beautiful batch!
MyKitchenInHalfCups says
That's my kind of corn bread! I always use buttermilk but yogurt is excellent. Nothing beats jalapeno. Beautiful Andrea.
Laurena says
Nice looking dish, so I had to try it. I decided to add some chopped red pepper for extra color. Turned out delicous great with a hot bowl of chilli.
Andrea says
Laurena, I'm so glad you liked the cornbread. I'm sure the red pepper added a nice touch.
Val says
Super recipe, clear instructions, turned out great in square pan, 28 mins. Light and delicious, used two small jalapenos from garden and two scallions. When I make it again I'll use a red chilli for colour and heat.