Sweetcorn & Rosemary Polenta Bread

I don't post savoury recipes often. This is probably something you have noticed if you have visited my blog before, as I have an insatiable sweet tooth that I seem to have inherited from my father (he loves his fruit & nut chocolate bars). But sometimes I come across a savoury recipe that I just have to try, and this is probably more likely to happen if the recipe includes sweetcorn. Yep there goes my sweet tooth again. But it's still a savoury recipe I swear!

I was on the fence about whether I would post this recipe or not. I didn't really adapt the recipe much from the original, since I haven't baked much with polenta before. But it was very tasty, (especially the cream & parmesan crust on top) and I served it with some spiced grilled chicken breasts and a haloumi salad. So I thought I would share it with you anyway, if only to prove that I eat other things besides scones! I was shocked to discover that A had never heard of haloumi before, and so I insisted on frying some of that lovely squeaky cheese up for him. He loved it (of course) and we had to squabble over who would get the last piece of precious golden haloumi.

Sweetcorn & Rosemary Polenta Bread
(recipe from cuisine.com.au)

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
60g parmesan cheese, weighed then grated
1/4 cup cream
2 cobs sweetcorn
2 cups coarse polenta (cornmeal)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
6 x 3cm rosemary stalks, leaves separated and finely chopped
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 220C. Use the pastry brush to lightly grease a 20cm square baking dish or tin with olive oil. Line the bottom of the dish with baking paper. Combine the cheese with the cream in a small bowl. Stand the cobs on the board and, using a fork, rake the kernels to split the skins. Cut the kernels from the cob. Put the polenta, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and mix well.

Add the corn kernels to this mixture.Put the rosemary, buttermilk and eggs into a medium bowl and whisk well. Make a well in centre of the polenta and tip in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Use a wooden spoon to mix it well to form a wet batter.

Tip or spoon the batter into the prepared dish. Spread the cheese/cream mixture over the batter. Bake for 30 minutes. Test by inserting a skewer - the bread is cooked if the skewer comes out dry and clean. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the dish for at least 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cut the polenta bread into 16 slices and serve as is, or toasted with butter.

The bread went very well with the rest of the meal, it appealed to the side of me that likes to shred up my food with my hands, I had a little bit too much fun tearing up chunks to get to the kernels of juicy sweetcorn on the inside. It was a little bit dry the day after, so I would recommend serving it fresh out of the oven. And I ran out of parmesan otherwise I would have made the top even cheesier!