1 month ago
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Why should pizza and focaccia get to have all the fun? Cornbread, with its subtle sweetness, golden hue and earthy flavour, is a welcoming canvas for the kinds of toppings that more commonly adorn Italian flatbreads. Similarly, today’s satisfying dessert features the familiar flavours of rice pudding but delivers them in a gloriously snackable, transportable and plate-able form. Thanks to a reformulation influenced by flan patissier (Parisian custard tart), the pudding, which bakes atop a simple pastry crust, ends up firm enough to slice while remaining silky and custardy.
Cornbread gets the pizza treatment (pictured top)
Cornbread usually gets cast as a side dish, but this makes a meal of the stuff. Here, it’s embellished with a flavourful topping that includes roast mushrooms and potatoes, sweet red onion and tender greens. Cheese, herbs and spices deliver extra intrigue to the cornbread’s texture and flavour. If nettles are available near you, take advantage, but if not, baby leaf spinach or rocket will work well.
Prep 20 min
Cook 50 min, plus cooling
Serves 4
For the topping
275g oyster mushrooms, torn into 2cm pieces (shiitake or cremini are fine alternatives)
225g waxy potatoes, cut into 3cm slices
4 tbsp olive oil
Fine salt and black pepper
1 medium red onion, peeled, halved, and sliced very thin
90g parmesan, or sharp cheddar, coarsely grated
50g baby leaf spinach, or rocket or nettles
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly
½ tsp dried thyme, or 1½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper, or ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 lemons, cut into wedges, to serve
For the cornbread base
420g full-fat yoghurt
105g olive oil
2 large eggs
100g mild honey
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
¾ tsp fine salt
280g cornmeal (polenta)
120g plain flour
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a 33cm x 46cm baking tin with greaseproof paper. Put the mushrooms and potatoes in the tin, toss with two tablespoons of the olive oil and some salt and pepper, then bake for 15-18 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly roasted (the mushrooms will be browned at the edges). Set aside and turn down the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½.
Put the onion, cheese, greens, garlic, thyme and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Add the roast mushrooms and potatoes, the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, then toss until well combined.
Line the same baking tin you used for the vegetables with a fresh sheet of paper (or, if the used sheet is fairly clean, leave it in place and reuse). In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), whisk the yoghurt, olive oil, eggs, honey and 75g water until homogeneous. Add the baking powder, baking soda and salt, and mix well. Finally, add the cornmeal/polenta and flour, and mix just until no lumps or dry spots remain; don’t overmix.
Scrape the batter into the lined tin and spread it out evenly to the tin’s walls. (A large offset spatula is the best tool for this task, but a flexible spatula or a large spoon will do.) Scatter the topping evenly over the batter, then bake for 25 minutes, until the cornbread is puffed and the edges are deeply browned.
Remove and leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving with a lemon wedge to squeeze over. Once fully cooled, the cornbread can be wrapped tightly in foil or stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to two days. Reheat it in a toaster or oven.
Rice pudding squares
Grapefruit zest brings a dash of herbal, citrus brightness to these creamy, vanilla-spiked squares. (The flavour is subtle, but if you’re not a grapefruit fan, feel free to swap in the zest of another citrus fruit, such as orange or lemon.) The stovetop rice preparation can be made up to a day ahead and stored in the fridge; the optional syrup can be made up to a week in advance.
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 35 min, plus cooling
Serves 12
For the crust
185g all-purpose (plain) flour
1½ tsp sugar (7g)
½ tsp fine sea salt
130g unsalted butter, very cold and cut into 1cm cubes
50g whole milk
1 egg yolk
For the rice custard
135g short-grain white rice, such as arborio
885g whole milk (or 750g if using single cream)
160g sugar
1 tbsp grapefruit zest, from about ½ a large grapefruit
A pinch of salt
3 large eggs
65g double cream, or 200g single cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
For the tarragon-honey syrup (optional)
100g honey
1 tsp dried tarragon, or 1 tbsp fresh tarragon leaves
Lightly butter a 23cm x 33cm metal or glass baking dish that’s at least 3cm deep. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter, then pulse until the mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs. In a spouted cup or jug, whisk the milk and egg yolk with a fork, then add to the dough while the motor is still pulsing, and mix until the liquid is evenly distributed. Pour the mix into the prepared baking dish and chill. (To make this without a food processor, mix the dry ingredients, add the cubed butter and work it into the flour with your fingertips until no pieces of butter larger than a pea remain. Whisk the milk and egg yolk, then gradually add this liquid to the flour/butter mixture, using a flexible spatula to mix just until the moisture is evenly distributed through the dough.)
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½ and position a rack in the lower third. In a large, heavy-based pot over a high heat, bring a couple of litres of water to a boil. Add the rice, boil for two minutes, then strain immediately and run under cold water to cool it down.
Return the blanched rice to the pot and add the milk, sugar, grapefruit zest and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, whisking occasionally, then turn down the heat to low. Cover and continue to simmer, stirring every few minutes, for 25 minutes, until the rice is tender, then take off the heat.
Meanwhile, prepare the crust. Using your fingertips and the heel of your hand, spread the chilled dough evenly over the bottom of the baking dish. (For a more perfectly level and compacted pastry, lay some greaseproof paper over it and roll with a mini roller.) Pierce the dough every few inches with a fork, then bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges and dry to the touch. (The crust might appear frothy, but the foam will subside once you remove it from the oven.) Turn down the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and vanilla. Whisk in a little of the hot liquid from the milk-rice mixture to temper it (so the eggs don’t curdle when they meet the rest of the hot milk), then repeat with a couple of more ladlefuls. Scrape the remaining milk-rice mixture into the tempered egg and whisk thoroughly.
Scrape the rice pudding on to the par-baked crust and, with a flexible spatula, evenly distribute it across the surface (it will be mostly covered by liquid) Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the centre is just set, the silhouettes of the rice grains push at the milky surface, and a few dark spots appear at the very edges. Remove and leave to cool for at least an hour.
To make the optional syrup, in a small saucepan on a high heat, bring the honey and 100g water to a boil. Take off the heat, add the tarragon, cover, and leave to steep for five minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the tarragon.
Cut the rice pudding into 12 squares, then serve warm, cold or at room temperature topped with a generous spoonful of tarragon-honey syrup. Once completely cooled, the squares can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
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Good & Sweet, by Brian Levy, is published by Avery at £35.99. To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
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You can also view these recipes and many more in the new Feast app, which has a cups calculator for US users
