Sweetcorn & Cheddar Cornbread

📝 Ingredients

• 120 g instant polenta (precooked cornmeal)
• 80 g plain flour
• 1 sachet baking powder (11 g)
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 250 g natural yoghurt 1.5% (2 pots of 125 g)
• 6 eggs (2 for the batter, 4 for the scrambled eggs)
• 30 g unsalted butter (20 g melted for the batter, 5 g for the dish, 5 g for the eggs)
• 1 small tin sweetcorn (140 g drained)
• 80 g grated cheddar (60 g in the batter, 20 g on top)
• 20 g fresh chives (15 g in the batter, 5 g to serve)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• 20 × 20 cm square baking dish
• 2 mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Colander
• Non-stick frying pan

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C (190 °C fan). Grease the square dish with 5 g butter, including the sides. Melt 20 g butter for 30 seconds in the microwave or over a low heat and leave to cool slightly.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the polenta, flour, baking powder, sugar and ½ tsp salt. Drain the sweetcorn in the sieve and pat dry with kitchen paper, then finely snip the chives.
3. In the second bowl, whisk 2 eggs with the yoghurt until smooth, then whisk in the cooled melted butter. The butter mustn't be piping hot, or it would cook the eggs.
4. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula just until no flour is visible: overworked batter would give a dense bread. Fold in the sweetcorn, 60 g cheddar and 15 g chives, then leave to rest for 10 min.
5. Pour the batter into the dish, smooth the surface and scatter over the rest of the cheddar. Bake for 22 to 25 min, until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool for 10 min in the dish, then turn out onto a wire rack and cut into 8 squares, i.e. 2 per serving. Once cooled, the squares keep for 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
7. When ready to serve, beat the remaining eggs (1 per person) with a pinch of salt and some pepper. Melt the rest of the butter in the frying pan over a low heat, pour in the eggs and stir constantly with a spatula for 3 to 4 min.
8. Take the pan off the heat when the eggs are creamy and still slightly glossy: they will finish cooking off the heat. Serve immediately with 2 warm squares of cornbread (15 seconds in the microwave if straight from the fridge) and the rest of the chives.