Lunch: Skillet Corn Bread with Red Bell Pepper

Here's the traditional southern way to bake and serve corn bread: right in the skillet. Using shortening to grease the pan produces a nice, brown crust.

Ingredients

1 medium-size red bell pepper
Solid vegetable shortening
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canned creamed corn
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 green onions, trimmed, sliced

Instructions

Char bell pepper over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag 10 minutes. Peel and seed pepper; cut into 1/3-inch-wide strips. Set aside.
Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 400 °F. Generously coat 10-inch-diameter ovenproof skillet with vegetable shortening. Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk, creamed corn, melted butter, egg, and hot pepper sauce in medium bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Transfer batter to prepared skillet. Arrange bell pepper strips in spoke pattern atop batter. Sprinkle with sliced green onions.
Bake corn bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve corn bread warm from skillet.

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