While practicing social distancing and semi-quarantining in Chicago with my boyfriend, I’ve been excited to try new recipes! For some reason, I really wanted Shrimp & Grits last night!
I searched the Google and found a number of recipes. I’m personally partial to the tomato based “sauce” that’s red more so than the brown sauce, so I sought out one of those recipes.
I found one recipe that looked pretty simple, but I adapted it to what we had and could easily buy. My recipe is an adoption of this one from Food Network.
My final remark before getting into the recipe, you can be creative! Notice if you need to add more of something or not, and my personal preference is to add less so I can add more later if necessary.
Ingredients I used:
2 cups 2-percent milk (I ended up adding more as my grits cooked to not dry them out but didn’t measure)
Salt & Black Pepper
1 cup Grits (I used Quaker Old Fashioned Grits, NOT instant)
Roughly 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 small squeezes of pre-chopped Garlic with Olive oil OR you could use fresh garlic
One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
2-3 bay leaves, fresh
24 frozen cooked shrimp with tails (we used these), thawed OR fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Grated Parmesan Cheese (fresh or from the shelf, we used the shelf parm)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Cooking Instructions:
Step 1 – The Grits: Use a medium to large saucepan. Add 2 cups water & 2 cups of milk and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in the grits and stir. Note: I ended up adding in more grits unmeasured than the recipe called for, but later had to add in more milk to keep them creamy. Adjust based on what you’re seeing and how creamy you want the grits
Lower the heat to simmer (low-medium) and cook. Stir frequently. My grits took about 10 minutes to cook, but it may vary depending on temperatures, so taste as necessary. 🙂 Also, add more milk to keep them creamy as necessary so they don’t dry out.
Step 2 – The Sauce: While the grits are cooking, in a new medium/large pan/skillet, heat the pan at medium and add the olive oil. Add the onions and cook for a couple minutes until they are translucent and soft. Squeeze in three squeezes (pumps?) of precut garlic or add fresh garlic and cook until you smell the garlic, roughly 45 to 60 seconds. Add the tomatoes with the juice straight from the can. Add the bay leaves. Reduce to a low heat and let simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes.
Step 3 – Shrimp Time:Â Increase the heat on the sauce to medium high and add in the shrimp (thawed or fresh). Cook at increased heat for 3-5 minutes until the shrimp is firm and pink. Remove the pan from the heat, add in the fresh parsley and stir. Taste to adjust salt/pepper and an option to add in cayenne pepper for a little more spice.
Step 4 – Complete the Grits: Once grits have thickened, mix in 2 tablespoons of butter (or more if you you wish) and add as much Parmesan cheese as you’d like! Taste to adjust salt, pepper, parm and butter as you wish.
Step 5 – Let’s Eat!: Add to bowl, top with more cheese if you desire & Enjoy!
I would love to know if you try this recipe! Send me a message here or DM me with pictures and what you thought! Good luck 🙂
xoxo,
Cortney