pane di mais con mirtilli / blueberry cornbread

blueberry cornbread for breakfast

Please, help yourself to a square of the moist, golden cornbread punctuated with juicy blueberries that I just cut. It's light and substantial at the same time, lightly sweetened and rich in flavor. After partaking of this sunny bread, follow me as I introduce you to a beloved author and one of his novels.

Years ago, during one of my usual bookstore browsing adventures, I picked up a slim volume: The Warden (1855) by Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). It was the first book I read by the famous novelist from the Victorian era and the beginning of a passion that, in the years that followed, brought me to read the majority of his output. I am, in short, a big fan of Trollope. And thanks to a number of superb movie adaptations of his novels, I turned my husband into one as well. We recently watched The Barchester Chronicles, the BBC's adaptation of "The Warden" and of its sequel, Barchester Towers: if you are into period drama, I recommend the movie, which presents the characters and the story faithfully, memorably and enjoyably. (Trollope wrote four additional novels and the six-novel series is known as the Barset Novels.)

After watching the movie, I read "The Warden" again. The protagonist, Rev. Septimus Harding is precentor of Barchester Cathedral and warden of Hiram's Hospital, a charitable retirement house for 12 old men. He is a gentle man, who finds himself at the center of legal action brought against him by a young reformer. While the novel also has a love story as part of the plot (the reformer is in love with the Warden's youngest daughter), the focus is on Rev. Harding's ordeal and his decision to renounce his office at Hiram's Hospital, which was granted to him by the bishop (and the income of 800 pounds a year he derives from it).

In his struggle to clear up his position, he clashes with the family Titan, Archdeacon Grantly, who is his son-in-law, the bishop's son and the rector of Plumstead Episcopi. In chapter 8, we get a glimpse of the rectory and its inner dynamics. For this post, I will focus on the table and the food:

And now let us observe the well furnished breakfast parlour at Plumstead Episcopi... The breakfast-service on the table was equally costly and equally plain; the apparent object had been to spend money without obtaining brilliancy or splendour. The urn was of thick and solid silver, as were also the tea-pot, coffee-pot, cream-ewer, and sugar-bowl; the cups were old, dim dragon china, worth about a pound a piece, but very despicable in the eyes of the uninitiated. The silver forks were so heavy as to be disagreeable to the hand, and the bread-basket was of a weight really formidable to any but robust persons. The tea consumed was the very best, the coffee the very blackest, the cream the very thickest; there was dry toast and buttered toast, muffins and crumpets; hot bread and cold bread, white bread and brown bread, home-made bread and bakers' bread, wheaten bread and oaten bread, and if there be other breads than these, they were there; there were eggs in napkins, and crispy bits of bacon under silver covers; and there were little fishes in a little box, and devilled kidneys frizzling on a hot-water dish; which, by the bye, were placed closely contiguous to the plate of the worthy archdeacon himself. Over and above this, on a snow-white napkin, spread upon the sideboard, was a huge ham and a huge sirloin; the latter having laden the dinner table on the previous evening. Such was the ordinary fare at Plumstead Episcopi.

And yet, I have never found the rectory a pleasant house. The fact that man shall not live by bread alone seemed to be somewhat forgotten.

The excerpt is a prime example of Trollope's delightful style. One characteristic of his writing that I particularly appreciate is his insightful treatment of women and of gentle souls, like the Rev. Harding.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about the novel's characters, this website has short introductions. The one dedicated to Septimus Harding includes a nice comment by Horace Walpole: "He is Trollope's grandest gentleman." And here's the page dedicated to Dr. Grantly described by Trollope as "a fitting impersonation of the church militant here on earth."

A final note: Rev. Harding plays the cello, and when he finds himself in a stressful situation, he plays an imaginary one to calm himself. On the subject of the Warden as a cello player, I found this interesting commentary by Steven Isserlis, my favorite cellist.

As I was reading the passage reported above, I decided to make something for Dr Grantly's breakfast table, something that is not specifically listed, and I thought about a quick bread I had made often a few years ago, then set aside, for no special reason. It is a variation on the beloved theme of cornbread that uses blueberries to great advantage. The recipe works well with either fresh or frozen blueberries. (Once again, blueberry season is upon us and I still have some frozen blueberries from our U-pick expedition to a local farm last year.) And it works well when using buttermilk (latticello), as in the original version, or a combination of homemade kefir and yogurt, which is what I used in my adaptation. The original recipe was published in Shape Cooks, a short-lived magazine that ceased to be published some 13 ago. In my rendition, I use cornmeal and whole-wheat flour (farina integrale) from my grain CSA.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup (130 g) yellow [stone-ground] cornmeal
2. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat flour
3. 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
4. 2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking soda
5. 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking power
6. a pinch of salt
7. 1 egg, lightly beaten
8. 3 tablespoons (45 ml) agave nectar or honey
9. 1/2 cup plain [homemade] yogurt + 1/2 cup [homemade] kefir OR 1 cup buttermilk (235 ml)
10. 1/2 tablespoon (7 g) browned butter (or regular unsalted butter), melted
11. 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper and oil or butter the sides not covered by the paper. Combine all the dry ingredients (1-6) into a bowl. In another bowl, combine egg, agave nectar, yogurt and kefir, then gradually pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Incorporate the butter, then gently fold in the blueberries.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cornbread passes the toothpick test. Check the bread first after 18 minutes and, if it needs more time in the oven, keep a close watch as it is easy to overbake the cornbread.

Remove cornbread from the pan and place on a rack. The cornbread is very nice eaten warm. For a berry-rich breakfast, serve also a strawberry lassi. (No need to use fine china or silverware.) I particularly enjoyed it as an accompaniment to fresh cheese like my homemade kefir cheese.

after making cornbread and lassi for breakfast

I suspect that the kitchen at Plumstead Episcopi did not look as chaotic as mine during the preparation of breakfast (colazione). I must admit I am careless with bowls and tools when I cook. I justify myself with the need to be unfettered by material constraints during the creative act.

Nota per i lettori italiani. Il romanzo di Anthony Trollope che descrivo in questo post è stato tradotto e pubblicato da Sellerio con il titolo L'amministratore. Sellerio ha anche pubblicato non solo gli altri cinque romanzi del ciclo del Barsetshire, ma anche altri romanzi di Trollope, tra i quali uno molto moderno nel tema intitolato La vita oggi.

This is my contribution to the 16th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have started some time ago.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

The photo above — shot in color and then converted to black and white — is my contribution to edition #39 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by the creator herself.

This post contains the gallery of images submitted to the event.

And I am contributing the cornbread to the June edition of Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Heather of Girlichef.

This post has the list of contributions to the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pane di mais con mirtilli

or launch the pane di mais con mirtilli audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

cornbread, cornmeal, blueberry, kefir, yogurt

Comments

[martissima]

il tuo cornbread ha un aspetto meravigliosamente rustico perfetto per la colazione, dalla foto della cucina mi accorgo che hai quello che desidero .......anzi desidererei un sacco avere e cioè la finestra sopra il lavandino sia per la luce direttamente sul piano di lavoro che per la vista direttamente fuori anche quando lavoricchio in cucina........chissà in un'altra casa.....in un'altra vita ^_______^ ciauzzzzzzzz

[Francy]

Ciao Simona, complimenti davvero per questa bella ricetta. Adoro la farina di mais e quella integrale, per non parlare dei mirtilli... proverò prestissimo a rifare questa tua ricetta, sarà perfetta per la mia colazione!! bacioni, Francy

[Heather @girlichef]

I love it when books have descriptions of food and table scapes...it pulls me right in! And your cornbread sounds fantastic - blueberries and corn(meal) go fabulously together. I hope you'll share the cornbread w/ BYOB -Bake Your Own Bread (http://www.girlichef.com/2012/06/byob-bake-your-own-bread-june-2012-link.html) this month. =)

[Paz]

A wonderful way to use those blueberries. I'd gladly wash those dishes every night for a taste of your cooking. :-D

Very interesting-sounding book with some interesting-sounding characters. I enjoyed the passage you included. Very descriptive. Very vivid.

[Phil in the Kitchen]

Lovely cornbread - I would definitely choose this for breakfast. Though I'm unlikely to ever be invited to the Plumstead Episcopi. Although I enjoyed reading Trollope many years ago I think there's much more that I could have taken from the writing. Trollope still inspires an intense loyalty from his admirers. I should try again.

[Lynne]

I must read this book-you have described it so beautifully. At the moment, I am reading the Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd. Rutledge has just returned home from the trenches of WW1, suffering from shell shock and survivor's guilt. He carries with him in his head the voice of Hamish MacLeod whom he had to execute for disobeying orders. As he goes from assignment to assignment in different villages in England, Hamish is with him constantly reminding him of his fate. Their interaction gets comical at times. You might like these books.

Your blueberry cornbread looks great with its lovely brown crust and I love seeing your series of kitchen photos.

[Ivy]

Haven't read Trollope since school days!! I always wonder, when do you find the time to read, cook, make cheese, make bread, host events and blog? You are a super woman Simona :) The bread sounds delicious. We also call them myrtila in Greek and although they grow in Greece we rarely see them in Athens.

[Simona Carini]

Ciao Marta. Mi ricordo che la finestra nella tua cucina non e' sul piano di lavoro. Sono d'accordo con te che la luce naturale sul piano di lavoro e' imbattibile. Questo pane e' davvero buono. Fammi sapere se vuoi qualche dettaglio in piu' per provare a farlo.

Ciao Francy e grazie. Questa ricetta te la consiglio vivamente. Fammi sapere se la provi.

Thanks Heather for the reminder. BYOB is definitely an event up my alley. Baking my own bread is what I do all the time.

Ciao Paz. I'll let my husband know ;) And I recommend the book... if you want to take a break from Montalbano.

Hi Phil. I hope you'll pick up Trollope again. I enjoyed a lot reading again The Warden.

Hi Lynne. What you are describing is indeed a very interesting story. The cornbread is a lovely twist on the tradition particularly appealing in this season. And there are more photos to come from the project.

Ciao Ivy. I am addicted to reading: if I don't read a bit in the evening, I can't sleep. I have not tried making this bread with another type of berries, but I think it should work. We have blueberries in Italy as well, but at least when I was a kid, they were not easy to find. I still remember the first time I ate them here in the US: such a treat!

[Molly Hashimoto]

Simona, Novel Food is a really wonderful part of your blog--it makes me want to keep reading and cooking! And I love your Kandinsky timbale,too! Art, cooking and reading--what else do we need?

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Molly. I totally agree. Food for the body, for the mind and for the soul: we need all of them.

[Ana]

Years ago I read Trollope's Palliser novels after having watched the BBC productions on PBS's Masterpiece Theater, but I have not revisited Trollope since then. I am ashamed to admit this, but I don't get to read as much as I want. Life and stress get in the way. Of course one could say that reading is a stress reducer, but the "id" inside of me must not have picked up that bit of information. Thank you for reminding me of Trollope, and I will give another of his books a try. I am enamored of the Novel Food event!

[Simona Carini]

Hi Ana. We also watched the BBC production of the Palliser Novels: it's great. And I read the novels some years ago. I think you will like the Barset Novels. You can start with The Warden, which is a short one ;) I subscribe to the idea that reading has a calming effect. It works wonders with me. I am glad you like Novel Food!