Skillet Cornbread

There's something about cooking in a skillet that makes me think of miners kicking back at the end of a long day while supper sizzles in a cast-iron pot over an open fire. Living in the middle of a large metropolis, I don't do much panning for gold or any other precious metal, but I can always dream while stir-frying veggies or flipping turkey burgers in one of my well-seasoned skillets. They're solid and heavy (sometimes, when filled with hot stew, perhaps a little too heavy) and seemly indestructible, though their enemy is rust, which does happen when the pans sit in water for any length of time.

My love affair with the skillet awakened a fondness for a particular recipe for skillet cornbread from one of my go-to cookbooks, Ruth Reichl's 2004 The Gourmet Cookbook. It's simple, relatively quick--less than an hour from mixing ingredients to finished product--and the bonus for those who aiming to reduce the gluten in their diet is that, unlike most cornbread, this one doesn't contain any flour at all. I like to serve it with one of those other things I enjoy making in a skillet--stews and chili. It's also perfect with a bowl of soup (isn't everything?) or with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup for breakfast. The buttermilk keeps the bread moist and even a little bit creamy in the center. I upped the sugar from 1 tablespoon to 2 (I've even been known to increase it to 3!), but that's the only change I made from the original recipe. Here it is:

Skillet Corn Bread

Serves 8

(from The Gourmet Cookbook)

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground, medium-grind

2 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

Special Equipment: a well-seasoned 9- to 9 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet*

Mix until just combined before pouring into the skillet.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat a skillet in the oven's center rack for 10 minutes.

2. Stir together dry ingredients: cornmeal, sugar, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

3. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk in a medium bowl until blended.

4. Remove hot skillet from the oven and add the butter, swirling it gently with a fork until melted. Don't worry if the butter sizzles and browns a bit around the edges. Try to leave a slight coating of butter on the bottom and sides of the skillet so that the cornbread won't stick.

5. Whisk the butter into the egg and buttermilk mixture, and return the skillet to the oven. 

6. Stir cornmeal into the buttermilk mixture, combining until evenly moistened but still a bit lumpy.

7. Scrape batter into hot skillet and bake until golden--20 to 25 minutes. Let cornbread cool for a few minutes in the pan before turning upside down on a rack to cool completely. **

Lodge 9-inch skillet

*Reichl says that a regular pan will produce an "anemic-looking" cornbread. If you don't own a cast-iron skillet, you can buy one that's already seasoned and ready to use through Amazon or Lodge, one of the major manufacturers. They're also available at many cooking supply stores.


**I've found that the cornbread sometimes sticks a bit to the skillet if you try to take it out immediately after removing it from the oven. If you allow it to cool slightly, it tends to hold together better when you remove it to a plate. Another thought is to just serve it straight from the skillet.

Nutritional Info (1/8 recipe)

Calories: 165

Fat: 8 grams

Carbs: 45 grams

Fiber: 4 grams

Protein: 3 grams

Weight Watchers Points: 7

On the Side

Ruth Reichl includes a recipe for buckwheat honey butter to serve with the cornbread. Combine 1 stick of softened butter (8 tablespoons) with 2 tablespoons of honey. Mix well. It works just fine with other honeys or maple syrup.

Recipe: Tortilla Soup

Hot as it's been lately, I still couldn't resist making some tortilla soup this week. It's easy, uses ingredients I usually have on hand, and doesn't wear out its welcome. It makes a great lunch or dinner with homemade or store-bought tortilla chips, perhaps with a salad or a slice of cornbread. On the plus side, since I use low-fat, low-salt ingredients, the soup is relatively low in calories and sodium--until you add the garnishes!

I've been making the soup for years, but, like many cooks, I tend not to make it the same way twice, nor do I measure my ingredients--except when writing down the recipe! I vary the amounts of peppers and types, as well as spices. This time I used a poblano pepper and loved the taste. Next time, I might add even more. I discovered a mild ground Hatch chili pepper at our local Bristol Farms and couldn't resist adding it. Opportunist that I am, I happened to have an open jar of Arrabiata tomato sauce, also from TJ's, and I mixed in some of that, too. When it comes to tortilla soup, the recipe is pretty forgiving. The basics are tortillas, tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, broth, beans, corn and spices. I use chicken broth and add some chopped chicken as well. But, if you're vegetarian, you could easily substitute vegetable broth, leave out the chicken and up the veggie count. You can make the soup much hotter by adding more chili, jalapenos and cumin, or less so by reducing it. A very versatile soup!

Tortilla Soup

(Makes 10 to 12 cups)

Ingredients

6 corn tortillas, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus cooking spray
2 medium onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 poblano pepper, chopped*
1-2 jalapenos peppers, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced                       
1/2 cup cilantro, loosely packed, chopped
6-8 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 cup canned, drained, rinsed black beans
1 14.5-ounce can diced, fire-roasted tomatoes
1 14.5-ounce can diced, no-salt tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato sauce**
2-3 teaspoons chili powder (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika***
1 bay leaf
1 cup corn, fresh, frozen or canned
1 to 2 cups cooked chicken breast
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauteed tortillas, onions, peppers and garlic

Directions

1) Saute chopped tortillas in oil until slightly browned. Remove and add to stock pot.

2) Spray pan with cooking spray. Saute onions, peppers until starting to soften, and add minced garlic and cilantro. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add to stock pot.

3) Add chicken stock, chopped tomatoes and sauce. 

4) Add spices, black beans and bay leaf.

5) Bring to a low boil. Turn down the heat to simmer. Cover pan and let cook for about half an hour, stirring at least once or twice to make sure mixture is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. If it's too thick, add a bit of broth or water. If it's too thin, remove the lid and cook a little longer to reduce the liquid.

Fire-roasted corn adds flavor. I bought the 365 brand at Whole Foods.

6) Let the soup cool until just warm. Remove bay leaf. Puree half using an immersion blender or food processor. Return to the pan and mix together.

7) Add corn and chicken. Adjust seasoning to taste. 

8) Serve with tortilla chips, chopped avocado, cilantro and a sprinkling of Parmesan, jack or cheddar cheese.

Cut tortillas into triangles, then fry until crisp in oil for a soup garnish.

Notes:

* Optional 

** Sometimes I use 2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato paste instead of the sauce.

*** This is also optional, but I think it adds an extra layer of flavor to the soup. I've also used Trader Joe's South African Smoke Seasoning Blend, which I absolutely love. 

Calories & Points:

For 10 one-cup servings, the calories are about 157 calories each and 4 points for Weight Watchers. When you add a some avocado slices, chips and cheese, the calories--and the flavor jump. A squeeze of lime is virtually calorie free--and really adds a bit of zing. Buen apetito!