Healthy(er) Shrimp and Grits
If you’ve never tried the combination of these crustaceans with ground corn, you’re missing out.
When ordering shrimp and grits in a New Orleans restaurant, 9 times out of 10 what you get is barbecue shrimp over grits. The “barbecue” part is a little misleading. Instead of a traditional tomato based sweet sauce, like ones you would use for basting pork ribs or chicken thighs, the sauce for barbecue shrimp generally consists of a ton of butter, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and a few other seasonings. Oh, also, they typically leave the heads and tails intact, which makes for a unique presentation, but leaves the patron a buttery, Worcestershire-y mess. A bib is generally required.
Shrimp and grits have been a staple in most low country kitchens, as well. In Charleston, South Carolina, when you order shrimp and grits, the shrimp is sauteed with garlic and spices. To make it fancy, they sometimes throw in some andouille sausage, or bacon (for a little surf and turf action), and/or poblano (or other type of) peppers for good measure.
In any event, those suckers (the shrimp, obviously). with the sauce, get spooned over the ground corn, aka grits, which have been simmered in cream, butter and cheese, and what you end up with is an indescribably delicious combination of spicy, creamy goodness. But this is not the type of thing you can eat every day, which is totally fine, but I tend to try to dial it down on the bib usage and extra calories when I am cooking and eating at home.
To solve this problem, I went looking for a healthier version of shrimp and grits on the trusty old Google and came across a recipe on The Food Network website, which I have adapted slightly for my tastes and preferences and put into my weeknight dinner rotation.
Don’t worry, there is still some butter and plenty of flavor from sauteing the shrimp in garlic, cayenne pepper and lemon juice which makes an excellent sauce to spoon over creamy Parmesan grits cooked in chicken stock. I tend to peel and devein my shrimp, to make the dish a little less messy, as well. So, no cream or bib required!
Healthy(er) Shrimp and Grits
Ingredients
- 1 cup Coarse stone ground grits
- 4 cups Chicken stock plus two tablespoons, separated
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 pounds Large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 3 cloves Garlic diced
- pinch Cayenne
- Juice of one lemon
- 3 Green onions chopped
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, bring 4 cups chicken stock to a boil. Once boiling, add grits and simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened.
- To the grits, stir in Parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon butter.
- Meanwhile, in large skillet, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Add shrimp, garlic, cayenne and salt and pepper. Saute for about 2-3 minutes, until shrimp firm up and turn pink.
- Remove from heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons chicken stock and lemon juice to skillet. Stir to coat shrimp.
- In four separate bowls, spoon grits and then shrimp mixture. Top with green onions.
Notes