Friday, January 13, 2012

Cheesey Cornbread Pie

Pies this week! (Go check out Recipe Shed for a whole selection of them.) I love pies, I could eat an old boot if it were wrapped in pastry. However, I couldn't find a good recipe for Old Boot Pie and anyway, I really wanted to look for something a little different. You can put almost anything between two pastry crusts and it's a pie by definition. But what else is there? Well I found a recipe for a pot-pie with a cheesey cornbread lid. It was with a hot chilli filling and called Mexican. I'd love it but I'm cooking for a 3yo so I dispensed with the Mexican element and came up with the following. I'm very excited to be sharing this, it's delicious and satisfying in a vegetarian meaty sort of way.

Cheesey Cornbread Pie

Select a variety of pulses and vegetables for the filling. I happened to find garlic, a potato, some aubergine, frozen sweet corn, frozen chick-peas, onion, frozen green beans, and some red pepper. You will also need tomato puree or crushed tomatoes.


Cube the vegetables and saute the vegetables (and pulses) in cooking oil. Then add the tomato puree (or crushed tomatoes) and salt, pepper, and soy sauce to taste, a generous tsp of onion soup powder (or a stock cube), and a cup of water (maybe 2 cups I can't remember). Let it simmer for about 15 minutes while you make the cornbread topping.

Mix in a bowl: 2/3 cup cornmeal, 1tbsp flour, 2tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
Beat 1 egg with 1/3 cup milk and 2 tbsp corn oil.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and combine to make the cornbread batter.

Put the filling in an oven-proof dish (I made 5 individual pies each measuring about 1cup) and top with the cornbread batter. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese over the top.


Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, until golden brown on top.



As I'd made individual pies it was easy to go round the edge with a sharp knife and tip the pie upsidedown onto the plate. This meant that the filling was on top of the cornbread and it soaked up some of the gravy. Also it was an easier and delicious way to eat the cornbread and filling together.


Yum!

10 comments:

  1. They look delicious. I've never made cornbread. It sounds easy (the way you write it). And I love Mexican spices. Great ingenuity with the frozen veg, too. Good work!

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  2. Thanks RH, I have to say this is one of my better recipe attempts.

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  3. Thanks RH, I have to say this is one of my better recipe attempts.

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  4. So what do I call cornmeal in the super/makolet? I've never used it. Obviously not white powdery kemach tiras (cornflour) used to thicken baby bottles. Real cheddar or a local equivalent - and if so, which?

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  5. Sherie - I used polenta (that yellow grainy thing that no one knoews what it's for). and of course not real cheddar - at about 10 pounds fo a small brick. The local equivalent. Thanks for commenting.

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  6. Ohhh, I've never tried making cornbread. I've tracked here via A Mummy Too's Linky and am glad I did. I shall definitely give this a go over winter.

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    1. It's a good one so I hope you do. Enjoy! And thanks for commenting.

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  7. I can't wait to make this. Looking forward to featuring it in my 'cooks with' series early in 2013. Happy new year and thanks for linking up x

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    1. Thanks Emily, I look forward to being featured. Happy New Year to you too xx.

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