Red Lentil Blue Cornbread

Many people have been telling me of the benefits they have experienced by eliminating gluten from their diet.  If you are not suffering from Celiac disease, apparently you may still derive benefit from eliminating gluten, especially regarding troubles relating to joint and muscle pain, and from exhaustion.  I have been told that even 1-2 weeks off gluten can make a huge difference.  If you are troubled by these problems, it may be worth a try.

Leaving gluten behind can mean walking away from some favorites like pasta, pizza and cakes.  But there are some good gluten-free alternatives, so don't despair.  Here is a version of cornbread, one of my favorite cake-type dishes.  It uses buckwheat, which is gluten free.  It also uses blue cornmeal, for fun - you could use regular yellow cornmeal as well.  If you are not going gluten-free, you could certainly use wheat flour to replace the buckwheat flour and get a wonderful blue cornbread.
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
6 fresh sage leaves, minced
kernels from one fresh ear of corn
1 small can diced green chilies, drained
2 Tbsp split red lentils (optional)
2 Tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds

Dry ingredients:
1 cup blue corn meal
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 cup almond milk, or cow’s milk
1/2 stick butter, melted

Must be done in advance: If using the red lentils, soak them in a bowl of water, in the refrigerator, overnight. Drain well.

Preheat oven to 425F. In a small pan, sauté the onion, corn, sage and red chili pepper flakes. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion and corn have softened and begin to caramelize.

Add the green chilies and mix well.

Meanwhile, oil a 9-inch springform pan or a cake pan. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

Stir the sautéed veggies into the wet ingredients. Then fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Tip the mixture into the baking pan and top with the pumpkin seeds.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until top is nicely browned, and a test knife poked into the center, comes out dry. Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes and then remove from springform pan, if using. Slice and serve.

Makes one 9-inch cornbread pie.

Cook's Note:  The red lentils just add a nice protein complement and a bit of crunch to the cornbread, especially of interest for vegetarians or vegans.  They are not a key component of the dish and are definitely optional.