A Spoon Full of Lovin' · February 2025
Blue Cornmeal Cornbread with Mustard Greens
A truly Southern event
This meal is a truly Southern event to sit down and enjoy with your family. Blue cornmeal gives the cornbread a beautiful color and a slightly nuttier, earthier flavor than yellow cornmeal. Paired with slow-braised mustard greens — cooked down with smoked ham hock until silky and deeply savory — this is the kind of meal that warms you from the inside out.
Ingredients
- — Blue Cornmeal Cornbread —
- 1½ cups blue cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup melted butter or bacon drippings
- — Braised Mustard Greens —
- 2 large bunches mustard greens, stems removed, roughly chopped
- 1 smoked ham hock (or 4 strips thick-cut bacon)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
Start the Greens
In a large pot or Dutch oven, render the bacon or add the ham hock with a splash of oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Braise the Greens
Add mustard greens in batches, stirring to wilt. Pour in chicken broth, add red pepper flakes, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on low heat 30–45 minutes until the greens are very tender and the pot liquor is flavorful.
Season the Greens
Stir in apple cider vinegar. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and heat. The vinegar brightens the whole pot.
Make the Cornbread Batter
Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven with a tablespoon of butter or bacon drippings. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter. Combine wet and dry ingredients until just mixed.
Bake the Cornbread
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and swirl the fat to coat. Pour in the batter — it should sizzle. Bake 20–22 minutes until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.
Serve Together
Cut the cornbread into wedges and serve alongside the braised greens with plenty of pot liquor for dipping.
Robin's Tips & Variations
- Blue cornmeal can be found at specialty grocery stores or online — Bob's Red Mill carries it.
- The pot liquor (the braising liquid) is liquid gold — serve it in a small bowl for dipping the cornbread.
- Mustard greens have a peppery bite that mellows beautifully with long braising.
- Leftover greens reheat wonderfully and taste even better the next day.
Southern comfort!
If you make this, I'd love to hear how it turned out. Drop me a note on the blog page. Happy cooking — with a spoon full of lovin'!