Chilli Cornbread

I’m a big advocate of salads & soups, especially in summertime when it’s warm (sometimes too warm!), you’re lethargic & just craving something fresh, cooling & light. Sometimes though, soup needs a partner, salad becomes a side, hunger prevails & something more substantial is required to banish the pangs.

It’s no small secret that I undeniably favour all things dough, so naturally my solution when it comes to expanding meals is to add a slice, a crusty roll, a wedge of sourdough. However, this  is not exactly the most convenient of options at times. Lacking clairvoyant skills, it can be difficult to predict the hunger pangs & set aside 3 hours to rise, prove & bake your own bread. The solution? A quick bread.

Whenever I think of quick bread, my mind immediately goes to banana bread or soda bread, both excellent choices but not quite what I’m after as a light summer side dish. Enter cornbread! I’ve never really been all that fussed on cornbread… particularly seeing as different shops & restaurants have different takes on what they call cornbread.

It wasn’t until I clocked some very delicious, yellow wedges years ago from a vendor at St Nicholas Market in Bristol that I really begun to appreciate it. It was simple, yes but it was also moist, flavourful & oh so moreish. I was converted! As with most eats from my travels & wanders, I obviously wanted to recreate this deliciousness whilst putting my own spin on it. Many attempts later, I think I landed on my perfect version.

Like much of the amazing dishes that we all know & love today, this one was born out of pure accident. I quite literally had a crop of chillies from the garden that I had no idea what to do with… naturally I chucked them in a bread, it just so happens that this bread was a cornbread. Thus a legend was born, well, a recipe that I return to every summer at least. Chillies add a fresh, lively flavour to an otherwise simple dough, each bite packing its own little chilli kick.