Bacon & maple cornbread

Here, cornbread – which originated in Native American tribes and is associated with the Deep South – is flavoured with the classic American combination of bacon and maple syrup. It’s a great pick-me-up on long walks, as it travels well, and a good partner to the campfire beans (p32).

MAKES 9 12 squares PREP 10 mins COOK 35 mins EASY

230g bacon lardons

5 rashers smoked streaky bacon 5 tbsp vegetable oil 284ml buttermilk

2 eggs

3 tbsp maple syrup

225g cornmeal or polenta 100g plain lour

21/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda For the maple glaze

25g butter

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 and line a 23cm loosebottomed square cake tin with baking parchment. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the lardons for 5-6 mins until golden. Remove to a bowl, leaving any residual fat in the pan. Fry the bacon rashers in the same pan until golden but not too crisp (it will cook more in the oven later), then remove to a plate and set aside.

2 Pour any residual bacon fat from the pan into a bowl. Add the oil, buttermilk, eggs and maple syrup, and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and bicarb, then tip this into the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in the fried bacon lardons, then pour into the prepared tin. Arrange the bacon rashers on top, then bake for 15 mins.

Meanwhile, for the glaze, heat the butter and maple syrup in a small pan until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and set aside. After 15 mins, pour the glaze over the cornbread, brushing it to the edges to cover. Bake for a further 10-15 mins until the cornbread is golden brown and cooked through – a skewer should come out with very few crumbs and no raw batter. Once cool, will keep in an airtight container for up to three days.

PER SERVING (12) 277 kcals • fat 15g • saturates 4g • carbs 26g • sugars 6g • ibre 1g • protein 9g • salt 1.3g