Corn Bread with Leeks, Pumpkin and Cheese - This New Dish was also a success

 My original inspiration was a recipe from a regular feed that drops into my emails.  I read the blurb ahead of the recipe proper, and decided that I would give it a try.  The Recipe was for Corn Bread with Leeks and Feta. by Diana Henry.

I have used Polenta in several sweet recipes and also in just plain Polenta, but had never made or tasted Corn Bread. Last night was the evening I first tried this.  Do read the recipe from the Telegraph, linked above, for techniques etc.  I changed a number of items, and scaled down the quantities to give four portions which would fit one of my oblong glass Pyrex dishes.

I used 400g leeks, cooked as per the recipe, and instead of the sweetcorn I used preroasted pumpkin which I had in the fridge, which I put into the dish to preheat whilst I was cooking the leeks on the hob top.

Instead of the Feta, of which I had none open, I used 200g grated strong goat's cheese, or which 50g was sprinkled on the top after 30 minutes in the oven. The oven was set at 170 C fan, and had a further 15 minutes after the cheese was sprinkled on top.  For this dish size I used 170g boiling water with 120g polenta, but since it was incredibly stiff I  added a little more water to facilitate mixing in the egg and cheese.  I had added the 1.5 tsp baking powder to the eggs and that went blobby, but a quick mix with my blender stick smoothed it out, then it all went into the polenta, and again I used the blender stick to thoroughly blend in the egg,.  I used a fork to mix in the cooked leek, pumpkin and grated cheese, and some salt and pepper. I do think the leeks really work, but suppose you have none, then onions ought to be used.

We had the first two portions for supper and the second two will be reheated for another meal. We enjoyed this with a lovely salad. The flavour of the Polenta came through and with the grilled cheese and a drizzle of my hot chilli sauce on the top, our lasting impression is of a good tasty dish.  Countless variations are possible, I would probably add herbs and olives, and even roasted peppers and nuts another time.