Shrimp and Not-Grits
This is a variation on Shrimp and Grits that owes a lot to various restaurants in Charleston and New Orleans, some old friends from Mississippi, the cheese grits we had at church suppers growing up, and the brilliance of my partner.
Shrimp & grits involves more than the titular ingredients - these days, it's a robust almost-stew with bacon and vegetables served over luscious cheese grits.
Discovering that my body no longer processes corn or oats correctly was devastating for someone who had shifted to polenta, grits, and oatmeal as the other base starches for meals. It left me with rice and quinoa as my “easy” options for side dishes, and at the time, quinoa was a) expensive and b) had some serious ethical concerns around consumption. Thankfully in the years since, the cost has come down a lot. This is due to other areas outside of South America starting and/or increasing production, which also relieves the ethical concerns of pricing a staple subsistence crop out of the means of those who depend on it.
After I lost corn, I didn't make this for over a year. Fast forward until I was watching a food show with my partner and muttering about really wanting shrimp and grits. They had me start listing off what grains I had and if we thought it could work as a substitute. Millet & amaranth & buckwheat all have too much flavor of their own. Rice is just the wrong texture, and same with wild rice. At the back of the pantry, in a box marked as clearance, I found the forgotten quinoa. We looked at each other, and went, “It might work?”
Reader, it works brilliantly and is a lot better for my blood sugar than polenta ever was.
This is one of the Foods of My People, and an easy weeknight supper. We have it at least once a month, it's in pretty heavy rotation in the winter. Like many of my recipes, it's all (our) pantry staples all the way down.
For the quinoa “grits”:
1c quinoa
1.5c chicken or vegetable stock
1c sharp cheddar
1/2c milk, half & half, or cream
For the shrimp:
½ lb bacon, diced
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
10oz brick of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
½ lb cooked shrimp
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the quinoa and stock to a boil. Turn off the heat, put a lid on, and let it continue to cook while you work on the other half.
In a large skillet over medium heat, start frying the bacon. When it's cooked (you can go to crispy. I don't, I just go to ‘no longer raw & floppy, about 5-7 minutes), add in the tomatoes and Cajun seasoning. Bring back up to a simmer. Throw in the spinach and shrimp. Let it just start to simmer, then turn it off.
By this point, the quinoa should be done. You know because the tails “pop” away from the grain. Stir in the cheese & liquid dairy. Add more cheese if you think it needs it.
Serve the shrimp over the quinoa. Makes about 4 servings. (Which is why we always make a double batch - we invariably go for seconds, and we both want to take it for lunch the next day.)
