Roasted chile, zucchini and corn all wrapped up in cornbread batter for a hearty and spicy cornbread.
"*" See Kitchen Notes for more information or links to special ingredients.
Roasted chile – For the cornbread in the pictures, I used the sweeter red roasted chile. However, you can use green or Christmas (both red and green). As far as the heat level goes, that’s to your taste. A medium chile yields a mildly spicy cornbread, whereas hot chile gives it a real kick. I don’t recommend mild unless you just don’t like spicy at all.
Yogurt – If you don’t mind your cornbread a little sweet, use Vanilla Lowfat yogurt. That’s what I use and we love it. Normally, I don’t add sweet to cornbread, but it works for this dish. If you don’t have yogurt on hand, then substitute with buttermilk or sour cream.
Casserole dish – Because of the heartiness of calabacitas cornbread, it works nicely as a deep dish cornbread. As you can see, I bake it in a souffle’ dish. However, you can use a shallower, square or rectangular casserole dish or cast iron skillet.
Bake time – Different dishes do change the bake time. A deep dish requires 60 minutes, whereas a rectangular shallow dish only requires 40 – 45 minutes. You could also divide the batter between two small casserole dishes and bake about 40 minutes. Always use a toothpick to check for doneness just to be safe.
Reheat Leftovers – Unlike regular cornbread, calabacitas cornbread heats up very nicely. Just cover, place in a cold oven, heat to 350ºF and, once at temperature, heat for 15 – 20 minutes depending on how much you’re heating up.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen