FancyTex-Mex Cornbread
by Bill Dwyer
Everyone I’ve served this to loves it. You might like it too.
Ingredients:
- 4 thick slices of bacon, fried, drained, and cut into small pieces
- 1 medium-size onion, finely chopped
- ½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 3 oz Cheddar cheese, cut into ¼-inch dice
- 1 chipotle pepper, minced
- 2 cups coarse-milled cornmeal (polenta)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (leche agrÍa)
- 2 eggs
- bacon fat
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350⁰F (175⁰C).
- Fry the bacon until almost crisp. Drain between paper towels. Reserve the fat remaining in the pan at room temperature.
- Sauté the onion and bell pepper in 2 tbsp of bacon fat until onions become translucent. Reserve.
- Dice the cheese and reserve.
- In a medium size bowl, mix the dry ingredients until blended. Add the Buttermilk and eggs and minced chipotle pepper. Stir until you have a smooth pasty dough, adding more buttermilk if necessary.
- Mix in the onion, bell pepper and cheese until well distributed in the dough.
- Coat the inside surfaces of a loaf pan with bacon fat. Spoon the dough into the pan and press into shape with a rubber or silicone spatula, shaping the upper surface of the dough into a mound. Brush the top of the dough with bacon fat.
- Bake until golden brown on top or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean (50-60 minutes), rotating the pan 180⁰ halfway through the baking time.