Daring Cooks Challenge: August - Cornmeal

Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

 In South Africa cornmeal, or mielie meal as we know it, is a popular food itea, We usually have it as "pap" for breakfast or served as an accompainment to a braai (bbq)  with lots of tomato relish. It's a staple food for many in Africa. However, I knew for this challengde I had to try it in a different way. I was very eager to make the suggested pancakes/flapjacks but unfortunately I was never home for a breakfast during the challenge month so the opportunity never arose. Instead, I decided to try something different - muffins!

Cheese & Herb Muffins:

(adapted from this recipe)

250ml self-raising flower

2ml paprika

250ml mielie meal/cornmeal

250ml grated cheddar cheese

30ml chopped fresh parsley or 10ml dried parsley

1ml mustard powder (optional)

2 large eggs

125ml milk

100ml oil

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease a muffin tray. If you are not using muffin cups, I recommend sprinkling some flour to prevent sticking.
2. Mix together the self-raising flour, paprika, mielie meal, cheese, herbs and mustard powder.
3. Whisk together the eggs, milk and oil.
4. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix together until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Spoon into prepared muffin tray, filling each 3/4 full.
6. Bake in the oven for 15minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.
7. Best served warm and delicious with a salty topping such as Marmite.

 The texture is interesting and the flavour is definitely a savoury one (some "savoury" muffins tend to be a bit sweet). MrB tucked in and I took the leftovers to the office the next day where my team devoured them with enthusiasm.