Cornmeal Spoonbread

As you know from a previous post, I've been cooking from a new gluten-free cookbook where I came across this recipe for spoonbread. It has minimal ingredients and I had all of them in my pantry already.

Interestingly, I've never heard of "spoonbread" before. (Blame it on my Southern Californian Asian-American upbringing)

Spoonbread is a moist cornmeal-based dish prevalent in the South. Although named a "bread", it's åcloser in consistency and taste to savory puddings, such as Yorkshire pudding. (Source: Wikipedia)

Below is my execution of Nicole Hunn's original book recipe. I recommend serving it with a savory meat dish with juices or sauce. Or, eat it the next day with some butter, or sweetened with honey or jam.

Ingredients

2 cups milk (lowfat is fine, nonfat is not)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 extra-large eggs I used 5 organic large eggs

For a slightly sweeter version, I recommend adding 4 tbsp of sugar

One Cup of Cornmeal

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a 6" casserole dish, and set it aside. 

In a medium-size, heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the milk and salt to the butter, and bring to a boil. 

Reduce the mixture to a simmer, and, whisking constantly, add the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream. Cook, continuing to whisk constantly, over medium heat until the mixture comes together (2 minutes).

Remove the saucepan from the heat, and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes, or until no longer very hot to the touch.

Once the cornmeal mixture has cooled, add the eggs and whisk until well-combined. Traditionally, you're supposed to fold in egg whites separately, but Hunn states that the extra work doesn't make a major difference in this recipe. I prefer this convenient shortcut.

Pour the mixture carefully into the prepared baking dish, and place in the center of the preheated oven. 

Bake until puffed and lightly golden brown on top (about 60 minutes). Remove from the oven and serve immediately.  

Slice an "X" in the bread (I recommend a smaller one that I did below) immediately when pulling from the one to let out steam.

What would you eat with this spoonbread? Feel free to comment below.