Baking and pastry are normally associated with discipline, staying power, precision, and strict adherence to simple science. That is without a doubt authentic of a few components of baking (I’d definitely keep on with the instructions for a perfect Victoria sponge, say). Still, there are some savory bakes that, for me, are all approximately gambling around and no longer being terribly zealous about what is going in and while. So right here, for all you free spirits (and baking phones) available, is a cornbread, a pie, and a flan that show off 3 methods without a mainly difficult system or even strict guidelines.
Honey and yogurt cornbread (pictured above)
I’ve constantly kept my cornbread greater on the savory aspect, with such additions as feta and chili. This more traditional take echoes the herbal sweetness of corn inside the satisfactory viable way, in a sweet/salty aggregate that’s ideal for breakfast or brunch. Avocado, in any shape or shape, will paintings properly along.
Prep 5 min
Cook 50 min
Cool forty-five min
Serves eight-10
210g unsalted butter, reduce in half
210g quick-cook dinner polenta
210g undeniable flour
1¾ tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
⅓ tsp bicarbonate of soda
450g clean corn kernels (from approximately three cobs), or the equal in frozen kernels, defrosted
3 tbsp runny honey, plus more to serve
200g Greek-style yogurt
80ml whole milk
three eggs, crushed
20g chives, finely chopped
Black pepper
Heat the oven to 220C (210C fan)/450F/gasoline 7. Put the butter in a 28cm-diameter cast-iron saute pan, then positioned it within the oven for 12-15 mins, or till melted and browned. Pour all but a tablespoon and 1/2 of the butter right into a bowl and set the pan apart.
Meanwhile, in a huge bowl, whisk together the polenta, flour, salt, baking powder, and bicarb.
Put the corn in a meal processor and pulse some times, until more or less chopped, then tip right into a huge bowl and upload the honey, yogurt, milk, eggs, chives, and a generous quantity of pepper, whisking to combine. Tip the corn mixture and the bowl of browned butter into the dry substances, and stir via until mixed but no longer overmixed. Transfer the mixture to the buttered solid iron pan you used in advance, smoothing out the top with the return of a spoon, baking for 25 mins, or until the bread is golden and brown around the edges, a skewer comes out easily from the center. Leave to chill inside the pan for a minimum of forty-five minutes earlier than serving, with more honey drizzled on the pinnacle, if you want.
Poha and coconut flan
Poha (or power) is cooked, flattened, and fried rice. You can locate it in maximum Asian grocery stores, and make sure you get the thick flakes, now not the thin ones, because they’re more likely to maintain their form. Poha is widely utilized in Indian cookery and is typically served at breakfast. Here, I’ve taken the traditional base and grew to become it into a savory flan that could work as a breakfast or light lunch with some smashed avocado or yogurt alongside.
Prep 40 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves four
150g thick poha (Indian rice flakes)
90ml olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
3cm piece sparkling ginger, peeled and finely grated
1½ pink chilies, 1 deseeded and finely chopped, the rest thinly sliced, seeds and all
1½ tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds, more or less beaten in a mortar
¾ tsp floor turmeric
2 stems curry leaves (i.e., approximately 25 leaves)
1 big (250g) potato, boiled, then peeled and cut into 1½cm cubes
Salt and black pepper
1 lime – zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, and juiced, to get 1 tbsp
4 tbsp coriander leaves, more or less chopped
3 massive eggs
300g 70%-fat coconut milk
25g fresh coconut, finely grated
25g salted and roasted peanuts, more or less chopped
Put the poha in a bowl, cowl with masses of bloodless water, and soak for 3 mins. Drain and set aside.
Put four tablespoons of oil in a massive, ovenproof saute pan for that you have a lid and positioned it on a medium-high warmness. Once warm, fry the onion, stirring now and then, for 10 minutes, or till softened and browned. Add the garlic, ginger, chopped chili, spices, and curry leaves, and prepare dinner for 2 minutes extra, frequently stirring, till fragrant.
Add the cooked potato, a teaspoon of salt, masses of pepper, and tablespoons of water, and cook for two mins, stirring frequently. Turn down the heat to medium-low, then upload the poha and stir to mix. Cover and go away to steam, undisturbed, for three mins, till the poha is cooked thru. Stir via the lime juice and two-thirds of the coriander, then tip out into a bowl and go away to chill slightly for approximately 15 minutes.
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/fuel 6. Whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, and half a teaspoon of salt, then stir them into the cooled poha combination. Wipe out the saute pan, upload a tablespoon and a half of oil and swirl the pan round to coat its base and aspects. Add the poha combinatiospreading it out to distribute it frivolously and y, then bake for 15 minutes ll just set. Remove and go away to cool slightly – about 10 mins.
While the poha is cooling, make the topping. In a small bowl, mix the sparkling coconut, peanuts, sliced pink chili, remaining coriander, and lime zest. To serve, top the poha flan with the coconut mixture, then drizzle over the closing teaspoon and a 1/2 of oil and serve at once from the pan.
