Recipe: Southwestern Corn Pudding

Photo by jeff_w_brooktree/FlickrCC

Adapted from a recipe in the December, 2002, Bon Appetit, this can be made with store bought corn bread or with cheddar-buttermilk corn bread, the recipe for which is below. The original calls for canned enchilada sauce, which can be tough to find vegetarian, so I've included a recipe for vegetarian enchilada sauce as well.

Cheddar-Buttermilk Corn Bread

• 1 cup flour
    • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1/2 stick unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter an 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan. Whisk the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Mix in cheese.

Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter in a different bowl. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir, being careful not to overmix. Transfer batter to the pan. Bake until bread is golden on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. If making for the corn pudding, cut into 1-inch cubes and place in a bowl.

Southwestern Corn Pudding

• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
    • 1 8x8-inch corn bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
    • 2 cups coarsely grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese (about 8 ounces)
    • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
    • 1 pablano pepper, seeded and chopped
    • 1/2 cup chopped green onions
    • 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
    • 1 cup enchilada sauce
    • 4 large eggs
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir corn kernels in dry skillet over medium heat, until any excess moisture evaporates, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with corn bread. Add cheese, peppers, and green onions. Whisk buttermilk, enchilada sauce, eggs, and salt in a second bowl to blend. Add this to the corn bread mixture and toss gently to combine.

Butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Transfer mixture to the dish. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 24.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake corn pudding uncovered until slightly crisp and golden on top, about 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

If serving with the black bean and jalapeno soup, ladle a bit of the soup over each plate of pudding.