Preheat oven to moderate, 180°C. Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin pan.

Sift flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Stir in polenta, tomatoes and onion.

In a jug, whisk together sour cream, corn, eggs and oil. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in
sour cream mixture. Season to taste. Mix lightly until just combined – do not over-mix.

Divide mixture among recesses. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Tips

These are a great breakfast style muffin. They can also be served with a spicy soup or stew.

These muffins freeze well

Flour is substituted for ground almonds or ground rice to make wheat free.

Blueberry or Pear Polenta Muffins

This recipe is vegan, meaning no eggs or dairy are used. But you'd never know it. These muffins are grainy and tender with soft sweet bites of Bluberries /pear that almost melt in your mouth.

2 cups peeled, cored and diced ripe pears (2-3 pears depending upon size) or 2 cups of blueberries ¾ cup organic ground cornmeal ¾ cup rice flour 1/4 cup tapioca starch 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ cup light olive oil 1 soft ripe banana, mashed well ⅓ to ½ cup hemp or rice milk, as needed ⅔ cup organic brown or raw sugar 1 tablespoon good vanilla extract A sprinkle of organic raw sugar for topping, if desired

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a twelve muffin tin with liners.

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients - cornmeal, rice flour, tapioca starch, sea salt, baking powder and cinnamon - whisk with a fork to blend. Set aside.

In a separate bowl beat the light olive oil with the mashed banana, add ⅓ cup hemp milk, sugar and vanilla - beat until smooth.

Add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and beat lightly until well blended, but do not beat it to death. The batter should be like a thick muffin batter (not as thin as a cake batter). If your batter is dry or stiff add a tablespoon of hemp or rice milk at a time and stir until it loosens up.

Stir in the pears or blueberries

Drop the batter into the muffin cups by spoonfuls - distribute evenly among the twelve cups. I like to make sure there are a few pear pieces sticking out of the tops. Sprinkle with a dusting of raw sugar.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or so until the muffins are firm to the touch on top and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean. Try the pick method twice - you might hit a moist blueberry or pear.

Set the pan on a rack to cool for a couple of minutes, then liberate the muffins from the hot pan- this keeps the bottoms from steaming and getting soggy. Cool the muffins on a wire rack.

To store - wrap and freeze cooled muffins in the freezer. They thaw easily and taste tender and sweet when still a wee bit chilled. They also are delicious warm.

Makes 12 muffins.

Tip

Room temperature pears help keep the baking time even - room temperature ingredients work best in gluten-free baking.