029 / 75 · Small-Hours Savory Bites
Roasted Pepper and Feta Cornmeal Wedges
8 wedges; 4 snack servings of 2 wedges · Active 20 min · Total 1 hr 10 min
Print recipe · PDFThese savory wedges sit between a soft cornbread and a sturdy snack cake. Roasted pepper keeps the crumb moist, feta adds distinct salty pieces and a little green onion sharpens each bite. They are useful when you want something that can be eaten neatly without a bowl. Cool them before packing: warm cornbread enclosed in a box makes its own condensation and loses the clean edges that make it easy to carry.
Drain the peppers before measuring
Jarred peppers bring enough moisture of their own. Drain, pat dry and chop them before measuring the prepared weight; a puddle of packing liquid would change the batter. Keep the feta in small crumbles rather than crushing it completely into the wet ingredients. Those pockets of cheese give the wedges their character and help the pepper taste brighter without needing a heavy hand with salt.
Mix a tender crumb
Cornmeal does not behave like wheat flour, so a combination gives the wedges both a grainy bite and enough structure to lift cleanly. Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients only until the flour disappears. A long energetic beating does not improve the batter. Once the baking powder is wet, get the pan into the preheated oven rather than leaving it to wait while you finish other jobs.
Cut for the kind of break you have
Let the slab stand in its pan for fifteen minutes, then lift it out with the paper and cool further for packing. Four squares cut diagonally become eight generous triangles. Pack two as a snack, or bring them alongside a separately packed soup for a larger meal. They contain cheese and eggs, so they still need chilled storage; a baked crumb does not make them suitable to sit unrefrigerated for an entire night.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal (150 g)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (100 g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (8 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (0.5 g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk (240 ml)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (45 ml), divided
- 3/4 cup jarred roasted red pepper, drained, patted dry and diced (120 g)
- 2/3 cup crumbled feta (100 g)
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion (40 g)
Set out
8-inch (20 cm) square metal baking pan, at least 2 inches (5 cm) deep, Baking paper, Two mixing bowls, Wire rack, Instant-read food thermometer
Allergens
Wheat, Egg, Milk. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Use 1 teaspoon of the oil to grease the pan, then line with baking paper, leaving overhang on two sides.
- Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper together in one bowl. In the other bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and remaining oil.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until no dry flour remains. Fold in the drained pepper, feta and green onion.
- Spread in the prepared pan. Bake for 28–35 minutes, until golden on top, a skewer comes out without wet batter and the center is set and at least 160°F/71°C.
- Leave in the pan for 15 minutes. Lift onto a rack using the paper. Cut into 4 squares and halve each diagonally to make 8 wedges. Serve warm, or cool in a single layer and refrigerate promptly for packing.
Wrap portions after chilling
Separate two-wedge portions with paper once cold. You can lift one portion out of the refrigerator without handling or warming the rest of the batch.
A useful detail
Use fine cornmeal rather than very coarse polenta, which can remain gritty with this amount of liquid and this baking time.
Another way
- Replace the feta with 2/3 cup (75 g) grated sharp cheddar; the wedges will have fewer distinct white pockets.
- Replace green onion with 2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped chives.
Keep it well
Refrigerate within 2 hours of baking, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below for up to 3 days. Freeze separated wedges for up to 2 months; thaw in the refrigerator. Eat chilled or reheat to 165°F/74°C. Pack chilled with two cold sources in an insulated bag and refrigerate at work.