Sage and Goat Cheese Corn Bread

I was checking on my herb garden when I saw the sage flowering and I knew it was the perfect time to try this corn bread recipe. Another excellent recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, 'The Herbal Kitchen' by Jerry Traunfeld. The sun came out this afternoon and I hope it's here to stay for awhile, maybe for the rest of spring and summer, wouldn't that be nice?

I got lucky when I took this picture of the sage leaves on my deck, the sun just appeared for a few minutes before it went behind a cloud! It kind of reminded me that summer is right around the corner and I'm ready for it. Baking this sage and goat cheese cornbread made the house smell so good. I'm going to serve it for dinner tonight with a green salad with tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, peppers, shallots and a homemade vinaigrette with more fresh herbs. I want to do more savory baking and continue trying all the incredible recipes I've been collecting.


Ingredients and Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened for the pan
18-20 large sage leaves
3/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons organic cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup olive oil
4 ounces, 1 cup, crumbled goat cheese

Smear the butter all over the inside of a 9-inch glass Pyrex pie plate. Press the sage leaves into the butter in a circular pattern, saving 8-9 for the sides.

Stir in the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together with a wire whisk in a medium size bowl. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and olive oil in a second bowl. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients until the lumps smooth out. Stir in the cheese.


Carefully spoon the batter over the sage leaves in the pan and smooth out with a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the bread springs back in the middle when you press on it. Let it cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan. Carefully loosen the sides with a small knife, then flip the corn bread onto a serving plate with the sage leaves on top. Serve while warm to savor the warm goat cheese and sage leaves.



Serves 8