Meatless meals were at the heart of World War I food conservation. At a time when most Americans ate meat for at least two of the three daily meals, homemakers scrambled to find appealing, filling choices.
This economical Nut Scrapple is an adaptation of a classic pre-war, waste-not farm recipe where all the trimmings from hog butchering were cooked down and mixed with cornmeal. That old fashioned scrapple sometimes featured savory seasonings including sage, marjoram or thyme to cut the richness of the pork meat.
Serve this version for breakfast with maple syrup poured on top like the traditional scrapple, as a side dish or as a main course with a light mushroom cream or tomato sauce on top.
Nut Scrapple
1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup hominy grits -- NOT quick cooking kind
(Note: Polenta will work if you can’t find regular grits.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups boiling water
1 cups finely chopped nut meats (I used almonds)
Gradually stir the corn meal and grits into the boiling water. Cook over very low heat until the water is absorbed, stirring frequently. Cool slightly and add the nut meats. Line a 4 x 8 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. If you are using foil, spray with a non-stick spray. Pour corn meal mixture into the prepared pan, press to make it even and cover with wrap or foil. Refrigerate overnight. To serve. Lift the loaf from the pan and slice into thin slices -- about 1/4-inch thick. Brown in a frying pan with a bit of butter or bacon drippings, carefully turning them to cook both sides. I cooked the slices from the entire loaf under the broiler in the oven. I lined a baking sheet with foil, sprayed it with non-stick spray and laid the sliced on it then sprayed the top of the slices. I had the broiler on high, but the sheet about 6 inches below it. The browned slices keep nicely in the refrigerator or freezer and can be quickly warmed in a toaster oven or microwave.
Copyright 2010 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved
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