Cornbread with Bacon, Pecans and Dried Fruit

• butter↗75 g

  melted, plus extra for the pan

• fine polenta↗250 g
• all‑purpose flour↗150 g
• baking powder↗1½ tsp
• sugar↗1 tbsp
• buttermilk↗500 ml

  (or 500 ml low‑fat milk with a drop of lemon juice)

• eggs↗2

  beaten

• bacon, sliced into strips↗25 g
• onion↗1

  sliced

• celery stalks↗2

  sliced

• garlic↗1

  pressed

• dried apricots↗75 g

  halved

• pecan nuts↗50 g

  chopped

• ground nutmeg↗½ tsp
• ground pork↗250 g
• листя чебрецю↗1½ ст. л.

  подрібнене

• сушені журавлини↗25 г

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C for convection, gas mark 6). Grease a 20 × 30 cm pan with melted butter. In a large bowl combine the polenta, flour, baking powder, sugar and 2 tsp salt. In a jug mix the melted butter, buttermilk and beaten eggs, pour the mixture into the centre of the dry ingredients and quickly stir to a homogeneous batter.

2. 2

   Sauté the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Add the sliced onion, celery and pressed garlic, and fry for another 5 minutes until the vegetables soften. Then add the pork mince, dried apricots, cranberries, chopped pecans, ground nutmeg, thyme leaves and the other stuffing ingredients, season to taste and mix thoroughly.

3. 3

   Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden and the centre is cooked through. Let the bread cool slightly, then cut into squares.