Tennessee Corn Pone

1 15.5-ounce can black beans
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Open can of black beans and drain about half the liquid. Do not rinse beans. Pour into a bowl and
heat beans and remaining liquid for 2 minutes in microwave. Pour beans into a 9-inch round pan and
sprinkle cheese on top.

Mix the cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Melt the butter and combine with
buttermilk and egg. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until smooth and pour over the warm
beans and cheese.

Bake on the top rack of oven until corn bread is a rich golden color, for about 25 minutes.
(serves 4)
Tips:

I don’t usually have buttermilk on hand, so I substitute the real stuff with regular milk
and white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of vinegar per cup of milk.

The cornmeal-milk-egg mixture will appear very liquidy, much thinner than typical cornbread dough
since there is no flour in this recipe. To avoid messy spillage when sliding the uncooked corn pone
into the oven set the round pan on a baking sheet.

Recipe adapted from “Laurel’s Kitchen,” by Laurel Robertson, et. al.
Source:
http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Food/Stir-It-Up/2011/0418/Meatless-Monday-Tennessee-corn-pone