Spoonbread is a custardy, soufflé-like version of cornbread that you can eat with a spoon! This one has jalapeños for subtle heat. It's an easy gluten-free side dish.
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Have you ever had spoonbread? Well, if you like cornbread, you'll love this creamy, custardy take on the idea. The jalapeño seeds and ribs are removed, so you get their lovely flavor without too much spice.
Spoonbread makes a great gluten-free side dish any time, but it's an especially fun idea to take the place of dressing at Thanksgiving and Christmas. This recipe is an adapted mashup of Carla Hall's from her book Carla Hall's Soul Food and one from Smoke and Pickles by Edward Lee.
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What is spoonbread?
Spoonbread is a baked custard-like dish made from cornmeal, milk, eggs and other ingredients. It must be scooped out with a spoon, thus the name. (Not really very bread-like at all...) It's believed that spoonbread originated as a Native American dish called awendaw or owendaw. The adapted version gained popularity as a side dish in southern states at the turn of the 20th century.
Why you should make spoonbread with jalapeños right now! (or anytime)
- It's gluten free!
- The jalapeños are mildly spicy, and canned corn adds sweetness for the perfect balance of flavors.
- Spoonbread makes a great substitute for traditional stuffing/dressing at Thanksgiving. If you're looking to change things up or have gluten free guests, give it a try.
Ingredients you'll need
- Cornmeal: Use fine cornmeal for this recipe, not grits or polenta. I like yellow cornmeal, but white will work just fine.
- Canned corn: Yup, one can of sweet corn niblets and you're set!
- Jalapeños: If you remove the seeds and ribs of the jalapeños, this will greatly reduce the spice level. This has a nice essence of pepper, but it's not spicy. If you prefer more heat, leave the ribs and seeds in.
- Onion: I like a yellow onion for the mellow sweetness which complements the corn.
- Sugar: Just a little bit of sugar. We don't want it sticky sweet, but just enough to amp up the sweetness of the corn.
- Whole milk: Be sure to use whole milk, we need the fat for creaminess and structure.
- Butter: Of course butter! This is a southern recipe after all.
- Baking powder: This is custardy, but we do need it to puff up when it's cooking.
- Salt: Just a hint of salt to balance the flavors.
How to make jalapeño spoonbread
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Drain the can of corn.
Remove seeds and ribs from the jalapeños and use a good chef's knife to dice finely. Dice the onion.
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Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a deep pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, jalapeños, and salt. Sweat the vegetables until they are soft and the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the milk and sugar to the pot and bring to a boil. While continuously whisking, slowly add the cornmeal ensuring that there are no lumps. Reduce the heat slightly and keep whisking until the mixture thickens and all of the liquid is absorbed, 4-6 minutes.
Remove it from the heat, transfer to a large mixing bowl, and stir in the drained corn and baking powder. Allow the mixture to cool to a lukewarm temperature. Stir from time to time to speed the cooling and prevent lumps.
Meanwhile, use a hand mixer to whip the eggs until foamy and no liquid remains.
Add about a third of the eggs to the cornmeal mixture and stir vigorously to loosen it. Then gently fold in the remaining egg in two batches until throughly incorporated.
Heat a casserole pan or cast iron skillet over medium high and add the remaining butter. Once the butter is foamy, add the spoonbread batter and remove from heat. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and transfer to the oven.
Bake for 25-35 minutes until it doesn't wobble in the center and the edges are golden brown.
Tips and Variations
- When adding the cornmeal, I first put it in a bowl, then I grab a handful and let it rain down through my fingers, repeating several times. This is a trick from Lidia Bastianich that keeps it from clumping. Be sure to whisk constantly while doing this.
- Use your biggest bowl and stir frequently when cooling the dough to lukewarm. The bigger bowl exposes more of the dough to the air so cooling takes less time.
- Canned corn has a lot of moisture, so yes, dump the liquid, but then put it in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and allow it to continue to drain while you prep the other ingredients.
- If you like it spicier, leave the seeds and ribs in the jalapeños.
- This recipe allows for endless variations. If you don't like jalapeños, try green or red bell peppers. You can add cheese, you can leave out the corn, whatever suits your fancy.
More cornmeal recipes
Cornmeal is endlessly versatile. Try these on for size, they're all gluten free!
- These Cornmeal Madeleines with Bacon, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Basil are the perfect little bites.
- If you like this flavor profile, you'll love Fresh Corn Cakes with Guasacaca Sauce. It's not guacamole, it's so much more than that!
- Apple Ricotta Cake proves you can even make sweet treats with cornmeal.
Recipe
Spoonbread with Jalapeño
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 large jalapeños or 4 small ones
- 6 tablespoon butter divided
- 1 ¼ cups fine or medium grind yellow cornmeal
- 2 ¾ cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 can corn (15 oz can)
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Drain the liquid from the can of corn, then place the corn in a wire mesh strainer over a bowl to continue draining while you prep the other ingredients.
- Remove seeds and ribs from the jalapeños (or if you like it spicier, leave them in) and dice finely. Dice the onion.
- Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a deep pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, jalapeños, and salt. Sweat the vegetables until they are soft and the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the milk and sugar to the pot and bring to a boil. While continuously whisking, slowly add the cornmeal ensuring that there are no lumps. Reduce the heat slightly and keep whisking until the mixture thickens and all of the liquid is absorbed, 4-6 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat, transfer to a large mixing bowl, and stir in the drained corn and baking powder until thoroughly combined. Allow to cool to a lukewarm temperature. Stir from time to time to speed the cooling and prevent lumps.
- Meanwhile, use a hand mixer to whip the eggs until foamy and no liquid remains.
- Add about a third of the eggs to the cornmeal mixture and stir vigorously to loosen it. Then gently fold in the remaining egg in two batches until throughly incorporated.
- Heat a casserole pan or cast iron skillet over medium high and add the remaining butter. Once the butter is foamy, add the spoonbread batter and remove from heat. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes until it doesn't wobble in the center and the edges are golden brown.
Notes
- When adding the cornmeal, I first put it in a bowl, then I grab a handful and let it rain down through my fingers, repeating several times. This is a trick I learned from Lidia Bastianich that keeps it from clumping. Be sure to whisk constantly while doing this.
- Use your biggest bowl and stir frequently when cooling the dough to lukewarm. The bigger bowl exposes more of the dough to the air so cooling takes less time.
- This recipe allows for endless variations. If you don't like jalapeños, try green or red bell peppers. You can add cheese, you can leave out the corn, whatever suits your fancy.
- This recipe is an adapted mashup of Carla Hall's from her book Carla Hall's Soul Food and one from Smoke and Pickles by Edward Lee.
Linda
So good on a cold night