Taste of Place: Wild Onion and Chile Pequin Cornbread

by | Nov 15, 2015 | Native Plants

Cornbread batter gets the native treatment. Photo: Danielle Pieranunzi

Cornbread batter gets the native treatment. PHOTO Danielle Pieranunzi

 

THE CENTER’S DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES, Danielle Pieranunzi — who also happens to be one of the directors behind the Center’s Taste of Place project — saw a need for bread at the Thanksgiving table, and right she was! After all, breaking bread with loved ones is what celebrating the holidays is really about.

Pieranunzi took her edible native plant experiment in a spicy, savory direction by adding chile pequin and wild onion to a cornbread recipe that normally calls for jalapeños and green onion. She said it came out “pretty good and definitely with some heat.”

She also offered a few other ideas for cooking with wild onions:

  • as a topping on baked potatoes
  • in wild onion dip
  • wild onion dressing on pasta salad
  • simply grilled with olive oil, salt and pepper

Chile Pequin and Wild Onion Cornbread

Wild onions harvested from the Center’s Taste of Place garden. Photo: Danielle Pieranunzi

Wild onions harvested from the Center’s Taste of Place garden. PHOTO Danielle Pieranunzi

INGREDIENTS

  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced wild onions (Allium spp.)
  • 2 teaspoons minced chile pequin (Capsicum annuum)
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Butter an 8-by-8-inch square glass baking dish.

Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl to blend. Stir in wild onions and chile pequin.

Whisk buttermilk and eggs in a medium bowl to blend, then whisk in melted butter.

Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Transfer batter to prepared pan.

LEFT: Chile pequin, melted butter and wild onions await their cornbread debut. CENTER: Baked to perfection. RIGHT: One slice to rule them all. Photos: Danielle Pieranunzi

LEFT Chile pequin, melted butter and wild onions await their cornbread debut. CENTER Baked to perfection. RIGHT One slice to rule them all. PHOTOS Danielle Pieranunzi

 

Bake cornbread until lightly browned on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer baking dish to a rack and cool cornbread completely. (Cornbread can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover tightly with foil and store at room temperature.)

MAKES 10 SERVINGS

Recipe adapted from Epicurious.com

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