Recipe: Quick Cheesy Cornbread & A Lazy Brunch Idea

I love me a good bit of brunch, and this is probably one of the best brunches I’ve had. I’m all about making my own as frankly a lazy weekend morning doesn’t involve getting dressed for breakfast…

The basis of this brunch is good bread, here I’ve made a Cheesy Cornbread. It’s unbelievably easy to do, and so, so quick – it took me 40 minutes from wandering into the kitchen to getting it out of the oven to cool. The cornbread is crisp on the outside, dense in the middle, cheesy throughout (with pockets of more cheese for good measure), and it’s got a warmth from the chilli too. It’s not overly spicy, but you could increase the heat if you fancied.

The rest of the brunch is standard fare. Bacon. Eggs. Done. I also added a little chilli butter to my plate, simply soft butter beaten with a few dried chilli flakes, as my recent course of antibiotics seem to be killing off my taste buds. Oh, and my grill decided to not turn on, so I might have crisped up the cornbread in the bacon pan…

Ingredients (1 Small Cornbread Loaf/3 Mini Ones)

• 175g cornmeal (“raw” polenta)
• 50g plain flour
• 125ml milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 grated chilli
• 50g cheddar cheese, crumbled
• 1.5 tablespoons of cottage cheese (soured cream or yoghurt would also sub in really well here)

Now, I’ve taken inspiration from Jamie Oliver’s Comfort Food book here, however I’ve made the recipe slightly heavier on the cornmeal, cut out the actual corn and not pickled the chilli. It’s slightly less sharp, it’s richer and possibly slightly drier – however I like it that way.

To make up the mix, just throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Pour into a lined tin (I used three mini loaf tins to make more individual portions) and bake at 200C for 20 minutes.

This easy cheesy cornbread is great served simply warm with a little butter, but I also love it dipped into a chilli, or obviously as a delicious weekend breakfast…

For the brunch option, simply slice and grill/fry your cornbread until crisp and top with bacon and an egg – I’m planning a post on cooking the best eggs soon so stay peeled for that one!

What’s your favorite brunch dish?