Jalapeño Cornbread with Cheese, Corn, and Arugula
Bob and Nancy Green live on the land Bob’s pioneer father settled in 1881 and Bob has been a rancher for most of his life. Now in her eighties, Nancy continues to indulge her lifelong passion for entertaining. She favors groups up to sixteen, because she can seat them all “gracefully” at her table without having to round up chairs from other parts of the house. Nancy keeps her guests happy with a good supply of cornbread, baked in a Texas-shaped skillet.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 14-inch cast-iron skillet. Heat it in the oven while making the cornbread batter. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, milk, and oil. In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture until combined.
Step 2
In a large skillet set on medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the onion, jalapeño, corn, and red pepper, about 3 minutes. Stir in the arugula, and cook for 1 minute more, until the greens are wilted. Fold the sautéed vegetables and cheese into the cornbread mixture.
Step 3
Use a kitchen mitt to remove the heated skillet from the oven. Spoon the batter into the prepared skillet and return it to the oven. Bake until the cornbread is golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve straight from the skillet hot or at room temperature.
variation
Step 4
If you are making cornbread croutons for chopped salad (page 217), skip the vegetables and cheese, and bake in a greased 13 by 18-inch pan until golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into croutons.
do it early
Step 5
You can bake the cornbread in the skillet early in the day and reheat in a 300°F oven before serving. Make croutons a day ahead.
