Green Onion Spoonbread

Not much needs to be added to this luscious, moist spoonbread—it is delicious simply with green onions and cheese as an accent. But your imagination can run wild without much risk. Add an abundant herb or another of your favorite ingredients.


Green Onion Spoonbread
(Makes 8 to 10 servings)

Emeril Lagasse's Green Onion Spoonbread
Photo by Steven Freeman. Reprinted from Emeril at the Grill, HarperCollins Publisher, New York, © 2009 MSLO Inc. All rights reserved.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Butter 9×13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Add 3 tablespoons cornmeal to dish and tilt dish to coat bottom and sides with cornmeal. Set baking dish aside.
  2. Combine milk, cream, buttermilk, salt, and pepper in medium saucepan, and bring just to a boil. Whisk in 1 cup cornmeal and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and has consistency of grits, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately transfer mixture to heatproof bowl. Stir in cheese, and set bowl aside until mixture is lukewarm, stirring often to prevent skin from forming on top, 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  4. In small bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Then stir yolks, green onions, thyme, baking soda, and baking powder into cornmeal mixture.
  5. Combine egg whites and sugar in mixing bowl, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold ⅓ of whites into cornmeal mixture to lighten it. Then gently fold in remaining whites, taking care not to deflate whites.
  6. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish, and bake until spoonbread is puffed and golden brown on top, and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, adapted from Emeril at the Grill, HarperCollins Publisher, New York, 2009, copyright MSLO Inc.