Jalapeno and aged-cheddar corn bread
Cornbread - traditionally served with barbecued food like ribs and pulled pork - is best served warm. This goes really well with any barbecued meat you like, especially if it is slow-cooked and pulled apart.
Ingredients
3-4 fresh corn cobs (about 450g)
180ml canola oil
2 free-range eggs
230ml crème fraîche
5 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
220g yellow or white cornmeal (check gluten-free as some corn flours are derived from wheat)
2 pickled jalapeño chillis, finely chopped
100g good-quality aged cheddar, grated
2 tbsp lard
Method
Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut the corn kernels from the cobs and purée in a food processor. Place puréed corn in a bowl and mix with the oil, eggs, crème fraîche and spring onions. In another bowl, mix the baking powder, salt, cornmeal and chilli. Fold these two mixtures together with the grated cheese to create a batter. It will be a bit lumpy, but don't worry.
To bake the corn bread, use a 20cm-22cm ovenproof cast-iron pan for best results. Melt the lard in the pan in the oven and ensure it coats all the pan evenly. Pour the batter mixture into the hot pan and place back in the oven to bake for about 30 minutes - until the top is golden brown, the sides have pulled away from the pan and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Remove pan from oven and rest corn bread for 10 minutes in the pan before cutting and serving while still warm.
Serving suggestion: Serve with Neil Perry's smoky chicken wings.
Photography by William Meppem. Styling by Hannah Meppem. Food preparation by Nick Banbury.
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Neil Perry is a restaurateur, chef and former Good Weekend columnist.
