by EMERSON SLOANE
I said I was going to do it. And I did. Earlier this week, for dinner, I wanted to depart for a night from my new meal plan and have some comfort food while I packed up things in my kitchen getting ready to move into my house in a couple of weeks. I made some yellow corn grits and used up some blueberries I had sitting in my refrigerator. I've always loved the combination of blueberries and basil. I've made a blueberry basil sauce before that I serve with a great quality vanilla bean ice cream, but the great thing about blueberries and basil together is that you can also pair them with savory foods resulting in a delicious flavor profile.
That got my wheels spinning about cornbread. Having lived in the south, I love cornbread. And it's best made right in a cast iron skillet. I figured since the grits, blueberries and basil turned out so deliciously, we could elevate a hearty country staple like cornbread into something even more fantastic.
The lime in this recipe serves a purpose--it tames the bread's sweetness.
3/4 cup stone ground cornmeal
1/4 cup course corn grits
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
4 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp lime zest
1/3 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
1 cup fresh blueberries
Heat oven to 375 F. Coat cast iron skillet with olive oil and put in oven to heat. Wash blueberries, pat dry, and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp flour. (This will prevent the berries from bleeding/sinking while the bread is baking).
In a large bowl combine cornmeal, grits, flours, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, buttermilk, honey, olive oil, lime juice and zest. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and about 1/3 cup chopped basil.
Remove hot skillet from oven and pour in batter, spreading out evenly to the sides of the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the edges are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool briefly in the skillet -- (at this point I suggest slicing a warm wedge right from the pan and pouring a glass of milk) -- then loosen the edges with a spatula to release the bread from the pan and allow to cool completely before storing.
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