Since the first recorded recipe, chili has been reinvented to include different spices and ingredients, changing basic things like beef to chicken, chili peppers to jalapeno peppers and tomato sauce to chicken broth. The fact remains, it’s a great meal no matter what recipe you use.
Once again, I have been drawn in by the adzuki bean with its unique and distinct taste that can be described as mildly sweet and nutty with a slightly earthy undertone. Adding a cornbread layer to this chili casserole seemed like a no-brainer to me. Thinking back to my mother’s cooking, I don’t recall much about her chili but the cornbread she served with it was ‘to die for’. Once again, I’m sure so much of it was time and place creating the taste of a memory, aside from the fact that she was incredible in the kitchen.
Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal and are leavened with baking powder. The quintessential late 20th to early 21st century recipe contains baking powder for convenience, sugar for sweetness and flour and eggs for lightness. Cornbread is an interesting recipe to track through the past few centuries. It is such a prolific crop, grown in America, that it was consumed across class, race and regional lines. Corn lends itself to change very easily, giving way to variations of cornbread recipes. Although traditional cornbread was not sweet at all, regional preferences for sweetness in the recipe have developed.
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- 250 gm ground beef
- 3/4 cup corn niblets
- 2 cups cooked or canned adzuki beans
- 640 ml tomato & basil pasta sauce
- 2-3 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp EACH cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika & dried oregano
- 1 tsp veg salt
- 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 100 gm old cheddar, grated
Ingredients
Chili
Cornbread
Cheese
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- In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef until browned, breaking up meat with the back of wooden spoon. Spoon off any drippings.
- Stir in cooked adzuki beans, soup, water, spices & vinegar. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to low & continue to cook, uncovered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Grate cheese.
- Pour into an 8-inch casserole dish & sprinkle with grated cheese. Set aside until cornbread is prepared.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a food processor, pulse the first 5 ingredients for a few seconds. Place in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, milk & egg.
- Combine wet & dry ingredients, mixing only until moistened; batter should be lumpy.
- Carefully spread over top of chili/cheese in baking dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until tests done with a wooden pick.