Cajun French: le grue (lu grū) – grits
Warm sweet potato right from the oven – what could be more Southern than that? Add grits and shrimp and your taste buds will be doing the Cajun Two Step.
Shrimp was on the menu for dinner and sweet potatoes were coming out of the oven; the fragrant aroma triggered the flow of creative juices. So began the journey that would be sweet potato grits with shrimp. Wanting to make it Cajun not just Southern, we added Tasso to the grits which gave it a pronounced smoky flavor.
We hope you have as much fun with this dish as we did…..
Mais C’est Bon!
Enjoy!!
Ingredients:
12 medium/large shrimp
2 Tbl olive oil
Green onions
½ onion, chopped
¼ cup Tasso, chopped
4 cloves garlic
½ cup raw grits
2 cups water
½ cup mashed baked sweet potato
1/3 cup grated goat white cheddar cheese
Salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
½ tsp paprika
2 Tbl lemon juice
Peel shrimp leaving on tails, butterfly and devein
Place shrimp in small bowl
Season with salt, cayenne, paprika, 2 cloves pressed garlic and 1 Tbl lemon juice
Toss shrimp to coat with seasoning
Heat 1 Tbl olive in in heavy pot
Sauté onion and Tasso
When onion is translucent, add 2 cloves crushed & rough cut garlic and sauté
Add 2 cups water and mix
Add ½ cup raw quick grits and mix well
Bring grits to a boil then reduce heat to low
Cook covered until grits is done, approximately 5 minutes
Add sweet potato and mix well
Add cheese and mix well
Cover
If grits is not used immediately, heat when ready to serve
Heat 1 Tbl olive oil in cast iron skillet
Place shrimp in skillet and cook until pink
Add 1 Tbl chopped green onions to skillet
Turn shrimp and cook other side until pink
Don’t overcook shrimp
Remove shrimp from skillet
Add 1 Tbl lemon juice to skillet and stir to combine with other seasoning
Plate:
Place ¼ – ½ cup of grits in center of plate
Place 3-4 shrimp on grits
Sprinkle chopped green onions on plate
Drizzle skillet drippings over grits and shrimp
Serve and enjoy!
