The National Cornbread Festival Is a Golden Opportunity for Fun Competition

The National Cornbread Festival, which happens in South Pittsburg, Tenn., each April, might conjure dreams of golden pones smothered in white beans or muffins polka-dotted with pockets with cheddar. But Southern-style cornbread with Bhutanese Dal? Why, yes. I dream of that too. Allow me to explain.

I’ve been a judge at the Cornbread Festival’s Championship Cook-Off for several years. We judges, a small pack of writers and chefs, usually gather under a festival tent with our scorecards and appetites to watch 10 finalists take the stage in a timed cook-off. The contestants nervously serve us their concoctions, tested in kitchens from Boise to Shreveport. We taste and consider and talk amongst ourselves, while having a deliciously good time, thanks to the participants’ hard work and creativity.

But last year, the folks at Martha White and Lodge Cast Iron, the sponsors of the event, turned the tables around on us. They asked a few previous judges to compete against one another in a Charity Cook-Off.

Uh-oh.

I don’t think I need to tell you that it’s far easier to do the judging than to be judged. Cornbread karma had come for us. But the winner, they also revealed, could take home $2,000 to a nonprofit of his or her choice, and all nonprofits — win or lose —would receive $500. That’s when I decided that…It. Was. On.

I knew I would have stiff competition from friends like Bites’ own Chris Chamberlain, Mary Constantine of the Knoxville News-Sentinel and Bob Carlton of the Birmingham News. These people know food and cook well.

But I also knew I wanted to compete for Growing Together, a collective of refugee farmers. More than 60 families from Bhutan, Nepal and Burma have been growing food in Tennessee as part of the Refugee Agricultural Program of Middle Tennessee, operated by The Nashville Food Project. The program gives the refugees access to land, tools and training as well as a way to make use of the skills they often practiced in their native countries. The elders in the program, who might lack the education or language skills needed for traditional American jobs, have the opportunity to contribute as they can teach their sons and daughters a skill that will last a lifetime. And by working together and taking their produce to market, the families can more naturally plant new roots in the United States.

As I prepared for the competition, the program’s agricultural director, Lauren Baily, wisely suggested I look to the farmers for inspiration.

I grew up in Appalachian North Georgia eating wedges of cornbread with “soup” beans (or white beans). The Bhutanese/Nepali refugees I know from Growing Together grew up eating a soupy legume dish, too, made with lentils and called dal.

So this recipe is an homage to both Southern American and Southeast Asian cultures: cornbread nests smothered in Bhutanese dal. They’re topped with pickle, which helps gives zing to beans in both regions. Called chow chow in the American South and achar in Southeast Asia, this version combines a traditional chow chow ingredient of cabbage with a favorite in both cultures — the mustard green.

Before I share it, I must confess that I didn’t take top prize. That distinction went to Bob Carlton of the Birmingham News, for his cornbread cakes sandwiching pimento cheese with sausage. (See the picture at the bottom of this post.)

But I’m proud of how this dish tastes. I think you’ll like it too. And if it helps extend a welcome to new Nashvillians — bringing us together even in the form cornbread and beans — then I’m chalking it up as a win-win anyway.

This year’s National Cornbread Festival and Cook-Off will happen this Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30, in South Pittsburg, Tenn.

Cornbread Nests with Bhutanese Dal and Mustard Green Chow Chow

For the Chow Chow:

Southern American chow chow typically collects and preserves what’s left of the garden, which often includes cabbage and various kinds of peppers. The Nepalese, Bhutanese and Burmese are fond of pickling, too, to make a relish or chutney. In this quick fridge version of chow chow, I’ve also included mustard greens, a favorite of the refugee farmers in Tennessee.

Makes about 1 quart

1/4 pound mustard greens, julienned into thin ribbons (turnip greens make a fine substitute)

1/4 head cabbage, finely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flake

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1/2 teaspoon dry yellow mustard

Place chopped greens, cabbage and red bell pepper into a wide-mouth, thick-glass jar. Toss to combine the vegetables and set aside.

In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt with 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the red pepper flakes, turmeric, celery seed, mustard seed and dry mustard, stirring to combine. Remove the vinegar mixture from the heat and carefully pour it over the cabbage mixture in the jar. Stir to combine and submerge all the vegetables. Cover the jar, and place it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

For the Cornbread Nests:

Makes 12 muffins (or 6 servings of two muffins per person)

2 (6-ounce) packages of Martha White Buttermilk Cornbread & Muffin Mix

1 and 1/3 cups whole milk

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray the cups of two Lodge Logic Straight-Sided Cast-Iron Muffin Pans with non-stick cooking spray. Place the pans in the oven to heat for 7 minutes.

While the pans heat, prepare the cornbread batter. In a medium bowl, combine the cornbread mix with the milk, salt and pepper.

Remove the hot pans from the oven and pour the batter into the cups until they are about 2/3 full. You should hear a sizzle. Place pans back into the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Remove cornbread from the oven and set aside until you are ready to assemble dish.

For the Bhutanese Dal:

Traditional dal has more of a soup-like consistency, but I cooked this version down a bit more with onion, garlic, ginger and fragrant spices.

1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon ginger root, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups green lentils, rinsed and drained

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Cilantro for garnish

In a Lodge Enamel Cast-Iron Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and sauté until soft and beginning to brown, about five minutes.

Add the turmeric, mustard seed, cumin, coriander, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir constantly over the heat to open up the flavors of the spices for about 30 seconds.

Add the butter and tomatoes with their juices. As the butter melts, stir constantly for about 30 seconds more to scrape up any bits of spices on the bottom. Add the chicken broth, lentils and 1 cup of water. Stir and then bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add an additional 1 1/2 cup of water and cover to simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Remove the dal from the heat and add cider vinegar, stirring to combine. Begin to assemble the dish.

To Assemble:

Remove the cornbread muffins from their pans. Cut a circle out of the top of each muffin and then carefully scoop out some of the insides of the cornbread with a small spoon to make a deep nest.

Fill the cornbread nests with a couple small spoonfuls of dal. Don’t be afraid to let some of the dal overflow onto the plate. Garnish with a couple cilantro leaves, and serve cornbread nests with a spoonful of mustard green chow chow on top.