Savoury Polenta & Jalapeno Bundt

Ay ay aye! This is a spicy little mother!

Last year the Horwich Fine Dining Society went on a little trip to London. I had been dyyyyying to try Barbecoa! I absolutely love American-style barbecue food. It didn't disappoint folks. I had the most fabulous pulled pork with jalapeno cornbread! It was deep yellow, quite a coarse texture and very sweet - but lovely. It stayed with me for months. I even had their business card on my monitor at work to remind me...

Then... next thing I know, there is a rumour that a barbecue restaurant was opening in Manchester! Cue Southern 11. Hey guess what? They do pulled pork with jalapeno cornbread. Nearly died. On the spot. Dead. 
Totally different from Barbecoa, but still one of my favourite restaurants in the area. Their cornbread is a muffin, a smooth texture and a bit spicier!

I attempted to get the cornbread recipes, but neither seemed to get that certain 'sweet yet spicy' flavour and moist texture that I was craving. So I made my own amended version. And of course, it's bundt shaped! Perfect for sharing! It incorporates all my favourite bits of both with my own edge...

Ingredients: 

• 360g plain flour
• 220g coarse polenta/cornmeal
• Two good pinches of salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 480ml full fat milk
• 100g unsalted butter - melted
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• A jar of green jalapenos - drained (about 215g jar) Note: if you don't like chillies, swap the jalapenos for 150g grated cheddar cheese! Mmmm!

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas 6/200 C
2. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt tin
3. Mix the flour, polenta, salt, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl
4. Mix the milk and melted butter together, then tip into the mix
5. whisk in the eggs
6. Fold in the jalapenos
7. Pour into the prepared tin - do not fill more than 2/3 full.
8. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
9. Tip: For the last ten minutes, turn the oven down to Gas 4/170 C. This is a large cake so you don't want to dry it out.
10. The bundt is done when it is shrinking away from the sides and a skewer comes out clean.

This recipe is perfect with chilli. pulled pork or any other spicy dish. If you don't want to make a huge one like I did, half the mix and pop it in a 2lb loaf tin and cook for 35 mins on Gas 6/200C.

Bloggers: Please respect the fact I am sharing my own ideas and recipe. Blood, sweat and many tears have gone into getting this right, so you may enjoy a perfect bundt. If you wish to re-blog a recipe from these variations, please credit my blog and link to this original post rather than pasting the recipe on your own page. 

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