She works with Jamie Oliver, making and styling delicious dishes. Here, Maddie Rix shares her own recipe for a filling and ridiculously tasty brunch idea with a kick…
Maddie Rix has spent the past three years working alongside Jamie Oliver, as part of a team helping to create his cookery books, TV shows and all other food related content. “Working for Jamie is hugely inspiring,” she says, “I’m part of an amazing team of talented ladies. We have lots of fun and work very hard, every day is different and I feel very lucky to be doing something I love.” Today, she shares her own recipe for a delicious savoury brunch…
Brunch: Courgette, feta and jalapeño cornbread
This recipe will make a large loaf of cornbread that will serve 8-10 people, carve it up and cook slices on a hot griddle to really bring out the flavour. You can top it with whatever you like – my favourite is crispy bacon, avocado and oven dried tomatoes.
Ingredients
250g course cornmeal
200g semolina flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
4 large free range eggs
400ml semi skimmed milk
2 corn on the cob
1 large courgette
4 baby courgettes
1 heaped tablespoon of pickled jalapeños
4 spring onions
75g feta cheese
75g mature cheddar
Toppings (per person)
8 vine cherry tomatoes
2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
1/2 an avocado
greek yogurt
coriander
chilli sauce
Method
Line a 20x25cm baking dish with greaseproof paper and preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Place a griddle pan on a high heat, once hot add the corn on the cob. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until you get lovely charred corn, turning regularly
Coarsely grate the large courgette and slice the baby courgettes into pretty little rounds. Finely slice the spring onions, drain and finely chop the jalapeños and slice the corn away from the husks. Grate the cheddar and crumble the feta
Place the cornmeal, semolina flour, baking powder and paprika in a large bowl with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs, whisk them a little with a fork and then pour in the milk. Mix from the centre gradually working in the dry ingredients until you have a lovely smooth batter
Fold in all the remaining ingredients, reserving some of the cheese and toasted corn. Transfer the mixture to your prepared baking dish, smooth out the top and sprinkle over the remaining cheese, bake in the hot oven for 40 minutes or until golden. Let the cornbread stand for 10 minutes in the tin and then you can remove it to a cooling rack and start slicing it up. Griddle on a hot griddle pan for 3-4 minutes, turning half way
Halve the tomatoes and place cut side up on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook the tomatoes at 150 degrees for around one hour. I love to do a big batch of these – they add a punch to just about any meal. Fry your bacon until crisp and roughly chop the avocado
To serve, place the griddled cornbread in the centre of your plate. Top with the crispy bacon, avocado and tomatoes. Scatter over the reserved corn, dollop on some greek yogurt and finish with coriander, lime and chilli sauce
Photo by Ella Miller