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.
- 1 cup grated zucchini or any summer squash
- 1 cup corn (corn from 1 cob)
- ½ - ¾ cup chopped roasted chile* (red, green or both)
- 2 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
- 1 cup grated cheese, cheddar, Monterey Jack or both
- 1 cup fine ground cornmeal
- ½ cup flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tbsp. melted butter
- ½ cup yogurt*
- ¾ cup milk
-
Preheat oven to 350º F.
-
Coat a 1 - 2 quart casserole dish* with cooking oil spray or butter. Set aside.
-
Bowl 1: Add vegetables and cheese to the bowl and stir to mix together evenly.
-
Bowl 2: Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
-
Bowl 3: Whisk together the eggs, butter, yogurt and milk.
-
Add Bowl 1 (the vegetables) to Bowl 2 (the cornmeal mix). Using a spatula, stir to incorporate the cornmeal mixture into the vegetables.
-
Pour the egg mixture (Bowl 3) into the vegetable cornmeal mixture. Stir gently to combine all ingredients. Once combined, stop stirring. You don't want to over stir and kill the baking powder.
-
Pour into prepared casserole dish.
-
Place in hot oven and bake for 40 - 60 minutes* or until cooked through. (Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean, it's done. It not, cook for another 5 minutes and retest.)
-
When done, remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
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.