Hot food: corn bread

What is it?

A buttery, golden bread made from cornmeal (stoneground corn) that's one of the more delicious staples of America's southern cuisine. It recently hitched a ride into town with the latest craze for all things southern, ready to be served with smoky barbecued meats, jalapeno chillies, southern fried chicken or chicken gravy.

Where is it?

At Sydney's Hartsyard, they bake cornbread daily to serve with oak-smoked lamb ribs with mustard barbecue sauce and pickled chillies. "It's buttery and crisp outside, and puffy and fluffy inside," says owner-chef Gregory Llewellyn. "It's so good with the gorgeous, fatty meat and a cold beer." Over at Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen, chef Hamish Francis-Martin bakes cornbread in giant Texan muffin tins (everything Texan is big) and serves them with hot gravy. "They go as soon as we put the tray up on the pass, warm from the oven," he says.

In Melbourne, cornbread is cooked Louisiana-style in a cast-iron skillet, served in warm, buttery wedges ready to slather with guacamole and chipotle butter at Joe's Bar and Dining Hall in St Kilda. "We put fresh corn through it as well," says chef Richard Nelson. "It's also great with butter and jam or queso fresco." (Queso fresco is a white Mexican cheese that translates as ''fresh cheese''.)

Why do I care?

Because it's a quick and easy ''instant'' bread that goes well with breakfast eggs, lunches of smoked salmon or chilli bean dinners.

Can I do it at home?

Use fine polenta, not instant. Artisanal, organic, stoneground cornmeal, such as Anson Mills of South Carolina, is hard to find in Australia.

Cornbread with bacon

Cook in a cast-iron skillet that can go from cook-top to oven to table.

100g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

275g cornmeal or fine polenta

1 tbsp castor sugar

1 tsp salt

3 rashers bacon, diced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp melted butter

300ml buttermilk

1. Heat the oven to 200C. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add the cornmeal, sugar and salt, and mix well.

2. Heat a 20-centimetre-wide cast-iron skillet (or equivalent heat-proof and oven-proof pan) over medium heat and cook the diced bacon until it starts to crisp. Set aside half of the bacon.

3. Whisk the egg with the melted butter and buttermilk until smooth, then fold into the dry ingredients until it just comes together.

4. Pour into the hot skillet, scatter remaining bacon on top, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Serve warm.

Note If you don't have a skillet, fold the diced fried bacon through the batter and bake in a well-buttered 20cm x 10cm loaf tin or four individual pie tins or souffle dishes.

Makes 4 to 6

Sourcing

NSW

Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen

201 Missenden Road, Newtown, 9557 7280 Hartsyard, 33 Enmore Road, Newtown, 8068 1473, misspeaches.com.au

VIC

Joe's Bar and Dining Hall

64 Acland Street, St Kilda, 9525 3755, joesbar.com.au