Cornbread for Chilli Con Carne

Asked by Laurajwoods. Answered on 25th October 2014

Full question

I am making Nigella's Cornbread Topped Chilli for a dinner party but would like to serve rice & cornbread separately. Can you advise if this cornbread recipe would work if cooked separately in a tin and if so, what tin sizes & cooking time would you recommend?

Our answer

Nigella's Cornbread Topped Chilli (from Feast and on the Nigella website) has a crust that is based on a cornbread recipe but is a slightly crisper and crunchier version than a regular cornbread. We have not tried to bake the crust separately but we suspect it could be a little too brittle to bake separately.

Instead we would suggest a more traditional cornbread recipe and Nigella has a recipe in Nigella Bites (p133). Nigella cooks her cornbread in a special corncob pan (made by Lodge Logic but unfortunately only available in the US) but the recipe will make enough for 12 cornbread muffins or a 20cm/8 inch square piece of cornbread.