Southwestern Spoonbread

I'd never heard of spoonbread before I read this post on my favorite food blog. The second I read Adrianna from a cozykitchen.com describe spoonbread as a hybrid between grits and cornbread, I made up my mind I had to have it. Seriously. Thick baked grits. Moist, flavorful cornbread. Do either of those sound good to you? Then you will like this. Also, you know me, since I'm a sucker for mexican flavors, I decided to make a mexican version of spoonbread. Just for the record, it was a very good decision. You could also add tomatoes or red peppers for added color or hot chilies for more spice. Whatever way you make it, you should definitely make it.


What you need
2 3/4 c. plus 1/4 c milk
4 Tbsp. butter spread
1 1/4 c. cornmeal
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 c. shredded cheese (preferable mexican blend or cheddar)
1/2 c. chopped green peppers
1/2 c. corn kernels (I used defrosted frozen corn)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. corriander
Sour cream and salsa for serving

What you do
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Great an 8 inch round pan with butter or cooking spray.  Heat the milk and butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to boil.  Decrease the heat and continue mixing while you sprinkle in the cornmeal, salt and baking powder. After a few minutes, it will thicken. At that point, remove from the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add just about 1/2 c. of the cornmeal mixture to the eggs. Stir together then add that mixture back to the cornmeal.

Stir in cheese, green peppers, corn and spices. Pour into the pan and bake at 350F for about 30-35 minutes or until puffed up and done in the middle. Serve with sour cream and salsa.