July the 4th continued: cornbread.

Cornbread in a special tin.

I have, in my ramshackle spice and tin cupboard, a beautiful and very heavy cast iron cornbread tin. Its wells are shaped like ears of corn. And if you get the bread just right and oil or butter the moulds enough, the breads come out easily and looking like miniature corns on the cob. All burnished and ridged. I love it. On with the recipe. You can also cook it in a tin or in muffin tins.

This makes about 14. I'm aiming for leftovers -- for which you'll need to read the July the 4th epitaph.

480g cornmeal. If you have problems getting this where you are, buy Italian polenta.
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of caster sugar
2 large free range eggs
2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda
240g of yoghurt -- a good thick one. Not low fat. try Greek yoghurt -- although you can always add a little milk to loosen it, if need be. You can also replace it with buttermilk.
4-5 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter.

You need a very hot oven and it's best to preheat the pans you're using -- you'll see why in a moment.

Now, this isn't absolutely the proper way to do in some eyes, I'm sure, but I just mix the dry together and then add the wet. Remember to beat the eggs well first, though. And to use half of the melted butter, because you're going to use the rest to oil the pan with. Also, cornmeal does tend to lump, so check they you've beaten any lumps out of the mixture. And that these babies do tend to stick --especially if you're using the cast iron mould-- so you might need to melt a little more butter.

Now, take your pre-heated pan out of that hot oven, put in the butter, let it sizzle and then pour in the corn bread batter. If it refuses to budge from the mixing bowl, let it down with a little more milk. If you've made the cornbread all in one piece, allow about 30-35 minutes; probably ten minutes less if you've made cornsticks or used individual muffin moulds. This bread should be golden brown and with a crisp crust -- and should be served piping hot. With more butter. Don't panic: it's not every day, is it? Although I must say that my husband's maternal grandfather did have cornbread and green beans on the table at every meal. And I don't mean, lightly steamed green beans: I'm talking, long cooked with a ham hock.

Happy 4th of July. Read on for leftovers.