CookEat Recipe
Rustic Cornmeal Cake with Raisins and Rosemary
A firm cornmeal mixture made with boiling water, enriched with raisins and baked in lard with fresh rosemary on top.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 250 g coarse cornmeal; About 500 ml boiling water, adjusted to form a stiff mixture; About half a teaspoon salt, adjusted to taste; 80 g raisins, checked for stalks and seeds; sultanas are an alternative; 60 g fresh plain lard, about 45 g for the pan and 15 g for the surface; 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary.
Step 2
Mix the coarse cornmeal with the salt. Gradually stir in boiling water until every bit of flour is moistened and the mixture is stiff and spreadable rather than pourable. Start with about 450 ml and add more as needed. Stir in the raisins.
Step 3
Heat the 45 g lard in a suitable ovenproof pan until it just begins to sizzle. Carefully add the stiff cornmeal mixture and spread and level it with a spoon to about 2 cm thick. Use a pan suitable for both the hob and oven; a bare historical copper pan is not required.
Step 4
Spread the remaining 15 g lard thinly over the top and scatter on small clusters of fresh rosemary. Bake at 190°C for about 40–50 minutes, until the cornmeal is fully tender, the cake is set and its surface is browned. Add a few extra minutes if necessary, rather than serving a gritty uncooked centre. Loosen and unmould carefully, then serve warm.
Step 5
For the sultana version, replace the raisins with the same weight of seedless sultanas and follow the same method. For the fritter variation, make the same stiff cornmeal-and-raisin mixture but OMIT the rosemary and the pan-and-surface allocation of lard. Heat enough fresh plain lard in a deep-sided pan for frying, about 500 g as a pan-dependent guide, to roughly 170°C. Flatten small spoonfuls of mixture into thin fritters and fry for about 3–4 minutes per side until golden, firm and cooked through. Drain and serve hot.
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