By Cynthia Nelson
With the holidays over it is time lighten up the palate from all the heavy holiday food. I don’t know about you but meat is generally the furthest thing from my mind at this time. All veggie meals or those with seafood are all I crave.
The recipe today is a version of my microwave cornmeal Cou-cou. I added cheese and more okra to the mixture. Cheddar is
an excellent choice but if you like, use a combination of cheeses. I mixed some smoked Gouda into mine.
To serve this Cou-cou, cut it into shapes with large cookie cutters or into squares or wedges with a knife. To vary the way in which you present it, you can lightly dust the cut pieces with flour and brown on both sides in a pan with a little oil or butter.
For this recipe you will need a microwaveable bowl and a sheet pan brushed with melted butter or vegetable oil.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup fine cornmeal
1 ½ cups thinly sliced okras
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups water
Butter, salted or unsalted
1 ½ cup grated cheese
DIRECTIONS
Brush a sheet pan with melted butter and set aside.
Generously butter a round Pyrex dish or ovenproof bowl and set aside (use the butter as is here, do not melt it).
In a separate bowl, add the cornmeal, salt and okra and toss to mix.
Pour in water and mix thoroughly, make sure there are no lumps.
Pour the mixture into the buttered dish and transfer to microwave. Set to cook for 6 minutes. At the end of the 6 minutes, remove the dish from the microwave, stir to mix, ensure there are no lumps. Return to the microwave and set to cook for another 4 minutes.
Remove the dish from the microwave and mix in the cheese along with a pat of butter to the cooked cornmeal. Immediately pour the mixture on to the prepped baking sheet and spread in an even layer of about ½-inch thickness. Leave to cool to room temperature or until firm enough to cut.
Brush the cookie cutter or knife with melted butter and cut the Cou-cou into your desired shapes.
Serve with seafood or meat stew or as is with a tomato-onion sauce.
