Pumpkin corn bread

After spending a morning in the kitchen of Monarch restaurant in Maplewood, watching executive chef Josh Galliano cook with fresh pumpkin, I was inspired to bring home a few sugar pumpkins of my own. (To see Galliano roasting fresh pumpkin, baking pumpkin pudding cake, making pepita (pumpkin seed) brittle and roasting pumpkin seeds, and to get his recipes, click here.)

I roasted the pumpkin and drained it as Galliano directed. Some I froze, using a 1/2-cup measure to make mounds on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, then transferring the frozen mounds to zip-top freezer bags. Then I pulled out cornmeal and whole-wheat flour to make this slightly sweet corn bread. It’s perfect with butter and a drizzle of honey — or a dollop of pumpkin butter.

PUMPKIN CORN BREAD

Yield: 9 servings

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree

1 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square pan.

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Stir in egg, oil, pumpkin and milk, working quickly and leaving a few lumps. Pour into pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

Recipe adapted from Razzledazzlerecipes.com.