This is a type of cornbread that can be made successfully gluten free and by adding some summer vegetables and store cupboard ingredients it makes a simple & delicious savoury cake. Try adding sweet potato instead of broad beans or what you have available. Perfect for taking on picnics and a nutritious snack too! You will need a 20cm spring-form cake tin, lined with parchment paper, or you can make it in a lined loaf tin.
Ingredients
- 110g self-raising flour or gluten free SR flour
- 110g polenta
- 50g ground almonds
- 110g butter, chilled
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 50g Parmesan or strong cheddar, grated
- A handful of podded broad beans or peas
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ a red pepper, diced
- 3 – 5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 10 black olives, chopped
- 4 spring onions, chopped
- 80g canned sweetcorn
- A handful of fresh herbs, ie basil, parsley, thyme
- Salt and freshly black pepper
Method
- If using broad beans, blanch them in boiling water for a minute. Drain and cool down quickly (to retain their emerald green colour) and skin them. Reserve a few for decoration if you wish.
- Fry the red pepper, spring onions and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes. Allow to cool.
- Put the flour, ground almonds, polenta into a bowl.
- Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips (or you can use a food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
- Then add the beaten eggs and all the vegetables, olives & herbs and cheese.
- Season with a little salt (as the olives and cheese will provide salt) and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
- Mix well and spoon into the prepared tin.
- Decorate with some extra podded broad beans if you wish.
- Bake in the oven 180C (ESSE dial guide low end of HOT) for about 1 hour or until it is cooked and just starting to colour.
Recipe prepared by Philippa Vine using the ESSE 1000 X Electric Range Cooker at Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen & Cookery School, East Sussex.
