Pumpkin Rosemary Spoon Bread

Pumpkin Rosemary Spoon Bread is a twist on the upscale Southern side you never knew you needed on your Thanksgiving table! Rich with flavors of rosemary, pumpkin and cornmeal, Spoon Bread is like fluffy baked grits soufflé. I’ve made it a healthier side, using almond milk, a fraction of the butter and by adding a slightly tangy taste with yogurt. You’ll love it so much it’ll be a new holiday tradition! 

This has been such an amazing weekend.

My dear friend of 25 years (I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to be able to say that), flew out to stay with me for the weekend. After showing her Memphis and then taking her to our neck of the woods in Mississippi, we basically just drank our weight in Starbucks and ate in every ethnic restaurant we could find, only breaking to patrol Home Goods and chat until my jaw was swollen shut. AHmazing. 

I was a prize emotional wreck (gold star for me), but I really needed her and she came at just the right time. Plus, she took many pairs of designer jeans off my hands that had been haunting me for the last few months from the back of my closet, taunting me with their smallness. If I’m ever blessed with that body again, she’ll send them back, but that’s not bloody likely, so I told her they’re hers to enjoy until I have a child that turns into a teenage girl who is asking her mom for “vintage” jeans from my youth. I guess that’s the only time I’ll need those back. 

I also decided to make Spoon Bread! Rachel told me her parents love it, and we both said we’d never had it but I could point out at least 3 different magazines on my coffee table that had a recipe for it for Thanksgiving, so I knew I needed to make it. Here’s what I found (please excuse me if you happen to eat it all the time and its a staple at your holiday table): it’s basically baked soufflé meets grits. And some recipes have way more eggs and butter than others. Some are plain, some have sour cream or creme fraiche, and all of them sound like they’d be amazing to have on your plate with a hunk of turkey and gravy on top (perhaps replacing the mashed potatoes or rolls on your plate?). 

So, for my version, I decided to make it lower in butter and use almond milk instead of whole milk, but keep all of the amazing, silky rich flavors intact with pumpkin, yogurt and rosemary! I seriously couldn’t be more impressed with the results. It’s so fluffy and light, subtle and yet definitely has a presence on the plate, and the rosemary combined with the pumpkin is such a perfect holiday flavor combination. You get a slight tang at the end from the yogurt, but it’s nothing you can place your finger on. I think it’s perfect (and I ate it for dinner with sautéed shrimp on top too). 

This will add a new holiday dish to your table, or replace one of the tired old ones you never loved making anyways. 

Pumpkin Rosemary Spoon Bread

2014-11-16 18:40:20

Pumpkin Rosemary Spoon Bread is a twist on the upscale Southern side you never knew you needed on your Thanksgiving table! Rich with flavors of rosemary, pumpkin and cornmeal, Spoon Bread is like fluffy baked grits soufflé. I've made it a healthier side, using almond milk, a fraction of the butter and by adding a slightly tangy taste with yogurt. You'll love it so much it'll be a new holiday tradition! (makes 6-8 servings)

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Ingredients

1. 2 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
2. ¼ cup unsalted butter
3. 1 tsp. sea salt
4. 1/3 cup puree pumpkin (canned or fresh)
5. 1 cup finely ground cornmeal
6. ½ cup Greek or Icelandic style yogurt (I used a Pumpkin Spice Siggi’s)
7. 3 eggs, separated
8. 1 Tbs. fresh minced rosemary (can substitute ½ Tbs. dried minced rosemary)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large 9” loaf pan or 9” cake tin with nonstick spray.
2. In a large pot on the stovetop, over medium low heat, combine the milk, butter, salt and pumpkin. Whisk until the butter is melted. Then, add the cornmeal and whisk until thick (1 min). Turn off the heat, whisk in the yogurt.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Add a spoonful of the hot cornmeal mixture and whisk, then add another spoonful and whisk (you’re tempering here so you don’t scramble the yolks). Then slowly pour the yolks into the pot of cornmeal while whisking until completely mixed in.
4. In a clean bowl, combine all of the egg whites. Whisk (or use an electric hand-mixer) until they hold soft peaks.
5. Scoop some of the egg whites into the pot of cornmeal, and stir carefully to break it up. Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold in until just combined.
6. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden and the sides are pulling away from the pan. Let sit on a cooling rack for 10 minutes to cool slightly then serve while still hot/warm! Enjoy!

Notes

1. Keep spoon bread in the fridge, covered, for 4-7 days. Spoon bread is like savory-sweet grits, so serve it with your roasted holiday turkey or even some sautéed shrimp. Of course, with leftover cranberry sauce and turkey it’d make an amazing breakfast too.

By Melissa @ Treats With a Twist

Treats With a Twist https://www.treatswithatwist.com/