rainbow shrimp and grits

Is there anything quite so wonderful as the combination of shrimp and grits?  Perhaps it is the blend of sweetnesses from the shrimp and corn , or the briny taste of seafood paired so nicely with the earthy aroma of good-quality, coarse grits that makes the dish so wonderful...  the point is:  it's one of those perfect culinary combinations that begs to be explored.

I am usually disappointed in the versions I find in restaurants, often times because of the quality of corn meal I encounter.  Even the cheap, instant stuff has a satisfying "comfort food" quality to it (and don't get me wrong, I'll still eat it!  Kinda like pizza... good, even when it's bad.), but it totally lacks in complexity and depth of flavor, which the cook will often counteract by adding copious amounts of butter and cream.  If instant grits are your thing, I'm not hating on that.  I get it - they're easy.  But before you eschew forking over a little extra money for the good stuff, consider the benefits:

Traditionally milled grits still have the germ (otherwise known as:  whole grain!) so they are rich in fiber and nutrients; heirloom grains are independent from the commercial food system;  and perhaps most importantly, they taste infinitely better.

So, if you're into it, visit the Anson Mills website and peruse their many varieties of "artisan mill goods from organic heirloom grains."  Your mind might just get blown.  If you live in Denver you can find Anson Mills products at Marczyk Fine Foods (in the freezer section, which seems weird, I know, but remember that nutrient-dense germ I was talking about?  It contains oils that will go rancid over time if not kept cold).  The variety I chose for this recipe is the Native Coarse Blue Corn grits.  I'm quite sure you could get wonderful results using just about any good-quality grits in this recipe, but if you are motivated to get your hands on this particular variety I can guarantee you won't regret it.  The blue corn, which is sourced by Anson Mills from the Cherokee Nation and is grown in the mountains of the Carolinas, tasted unlike any other kind of grits I've tried.  They had a very earthy and almost chestnut-like flavor with a mildly sweet finish.  The grits look a lot like any ol' coarse grain before you add water and then, all at once, they become this beautiful lavendar-blue hue that only intensifies as you cook them.  Such a color is so uncommonly found in food that you can't help but be surprised when you see it! 

Not being from the South, I have no loyalties to any specific method of preparation for shrimp and grits.  When I encountered this innovative and somewhat atraditional recipe from the Food52 blog, originally appearing in the glorious cookbook The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, my curiosity was piqued.  I used their genius idea for making homemade, salty, buttery, boozy shrimp paste as the springboard for this incredibly flavorful and delicious dish.  Since it is springtime, I just had to incorporate some seasonal staples:  Ramps and spinach.  The ramps get blended into the shrimp paste to add a bright, pungent, garlicky flavor to the dish.  The spinach is gently wilted with sliced andouille sausage and served atop the grits.  I made some extra shrimp to place on top, but we had leftovers without the extra shrimp the next evening and I thought it was just as good and makes for a lighter meal.  Since microgreens have become newly available in the market, I've been buying a container each week and garnishing practically everything with them!  They're so beautiful and add a bright, herbaceous flavor to just about any dish.  Everything comes together in one incredibly colorful, comforting, warm bowl.  I can't think of anything that tastes more perfect on a blustery Spring evening! 

Rainbow Shrimp and Grits

serves 4

Shrimp and Ramp Paste:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

about 5 ramp stalks (one small bunch)

12 T salted butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature

1/3 cup good whiskey

juice of 1 small lemon (I used a Meyer)

good pinch of cayenne

plenty of salt and pepper

Grits:

1/2 pound Coarse Ground Grits

2 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 cups or so of shrimp stock (or more water)

about 3/4 cup shrimp paste

8-12 cooked shrimp (optional)

microgreens, for garnish (optional_

Wilted Spinach with Andouille:

1 pound baby spinach, washed and tough stems removed

2 T salted butter

2 T olive oil

2 cooked andouille sausages, sliced

2-3 T shrimp and ramp paste

First, prep your grits.  Place them in a bowl and cover with 2 1/2 cups of water.  After the grains settle to the bottom, skim off the chaff and hulls that float to the surface and discard.  If you have the time, allow the grits to soak overnight (this will dramatically reduce your cooking time but is not absolutely necessary if you don't mind tending to the grits for upwards of two hours).

Next, make the shrimp paste.  In a large pan, add half the butter and heat over medium-high.  Add shrimp (cook the optional extra 8-12 shrimp for the topping, at this point, and set aside) and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the shrimp is just-done, about 5-6 minutes.  Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add whiskey, lemon juice, and cayenne to the pan and cook over medium-high, scraping the leftover bits of shrimp from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until the sauce is reduced to the consistency of syrup.  Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the shrimp tails, if they are still in tact, and add the shrimps with the reduced sauce to a food processor.  Pulse a few times to combine.  Add ramps and remaining salted butter and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse paste.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Set aside the shrimp paste, keeping it at room temperature until ready to use.

Place shrimp stock (or water) in a small saucepan and keep simmering over low heat.  Add the grits, with the water in which they were soaking, to a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir constantly and simmer the grits until the liquid looks starchy and slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.  Cover the pan and reduce heat to low.  Stir every 10 minutes or so, making sure to loosen any grains that stick to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  Each time the grits become thick, add shrimp stock about 1/2 a cup or so at a time and continue cooking, adding at least 1 1/2 cups more liquid, until the grits are done.  Cooking time will be about 50-60 minutes if your grits were soaked overnight, and about 1 1/2 to 2 hours if they weren't.  You'll know when they're done when the grits are no longer starchy in the center.  The grains should be a little toothsome but fairly soft and not chalky in texture.

Once grits are cooked, remove from heat.  Stir in about 3/4 cup of the shrimp paste (or about half the batch) into the grits until combined and allow the flavors to sit together for about 10 minutes. 

While the grits are resting, cook the spinach.  In a large pan, add butter and oil and heat over medium-high.  When butter is bubbling, add your sliced andouille and cook until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add spinach (and extra 8-12 shrimp and a few tablespoons of shrimp paste and reduce heat to slightly above medium.  Stir spinach continuously until it is just-wilted and soft, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Ladle the grits into a bowl, making a little well in the center for the spinach.  Spoon the spinach and andouille into the grit wells and serve with extra shrimp on top (if using), garnished with microgreens. 

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Sandwich

I love breakfast.  Have I mentioned that before?  Not only is it increasingly evident that it truly is a "most important" meal, but it highlights two of my favorite foods - eggs and bacon!  Funny thing... this sandwich has both.

The composition is really simple, so the key is choosing the very best ingredients.  My sandwich started out with Marczyk's ciabatta, which is hand-made using local, organic flour and is incredibly delicious.  I also used Niman Ranch bacon, farm-fresh Penny's Eggs from Nunn, Colorado, and a peppery, flavorful, savory mix of microgreens.  What in the heck are these microgreens I am speaking of, you ask?  For those that don't know - they're the baby-est of the baby lettuces.  They start as the seeds of various herbs and vegetables (such as cilantro or beet) and are harvested when the leaf is about two inches tall.  They are often intense in flavor and are also highly nutritious, not to mention cute-as-a-button and a fun way to make just about any dish prettier.  If microgreens are difficult to find, arugula is a good substitute and is pretty widely available.


Bacon and Egg Breakfast Sandwich
makes one

1 small (8" or so) loaf Ciabatta, or other good-quality fresh bread
1/4 of a ripe avocado
3 strips bacon, fried crisp and fat reserved
1 egg
1/4 cup microgreens (or baby lettuce greens)
salt and pepper, to taste

Slice bread in half, lengthwise.  Mash the avocado with a fork and spread on one side of the bread.

In a small pan, add about 2 tsp of the reserved bacon fat and heat over medium-high.  When fat is hot, add egg and fry until the white's edges are crispy and golden, about 5 minutes.  Layer bacon, fried egg, and microgreens on your bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Slice in half and enjoy.

Curried Spinach and Cilantro Soup

The spinach recipes continue!  

This is a perfect meal for a scorching summer day.  The creamy texture of coconut milk and pureed potato and the mellow sweetness of spinach pair nicely with the cooling, almost stringent taste of cilantro and tangy lime to make a decidedly light and refreshing soup .  Use your favorite Thai-style curry powder or curry paste and make sure to adjust the salt level at the end of the cooking process so as not to over-season.  I like to garnish with a healthy handful of cilantro leaves to really give the soup a bright, vibrant flavor.

Curried Spinach and Cilantro Soup
serves 4-6

2 1/2 T butter
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 garlic scapes, chopped
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can light coconut milk
2 cups water or vegetable stock
1 1/2 T Thai curry powder
5 cups tightly-packed spinach leaves, tough stems removed
1 cup cilantro stems (about 1/2 a bunch)
Juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper, to taste
cilantro leaves

Heat butter in a large pot over medium-high until melted.  Lower heat, slightly, and add onions.  Saute until tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes.  Add garlic scapes and potatoes and cook until scapes are fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add coconut milk, water, and curry powder and bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

When potatoes are fork-tender, add spinach leaves and cilantro stems and stir until leaves are wilted and soft, about 5 minutes.  Using an immersion blender (or a food processor, in two batches) puree soup until smooth and creamy.  Season with salt and pepper, stir well, and remove from heat.  Add lime juice and stir to combine.  Serve soup hot with a handful of cilantro leaves in each bowl, to garnish.

Creamed Spinach with Garlic Scapes

One of the things I enjoy the most about getting my produce through CSA shares is the way it challenges me in the kitchen.  This week we got a massive amount of spinach, which I happen to love, but I've literally been thinking for two days straight about just how I want to go about cooking and eating it all in just a week.  My solution?  Cook it down!

Spinach can seem more overwhelming in quantity than it actually is, but when you cook it down it becomes far less intimidating.  I love this recipe because it uses a ton of spinach and it makes it taste magical.  The salty, meaty flavor of bacon fat mingles with the creamy broth to create a hearty base for the sweet, earthy spinach and pungent garlic scapes.  The uses for this side dish are numerous.  I decided to mix some chicken sausage into mine and pour it over a baked potato, which was delicious and filling.  You could also serve it with a poached egg on top for breakfast, add it to grits or polenta, or use it as a sauce for chicken.  It's versatile!

Creamed Spinach with Garlic Scapes
serves 4


3 T bacon fat
1 yellow onion, diced
1 garlic scape, sliced (about 2 T)
1/2 tsp corn starch
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable stock
8 cups tightly packed spinach leaves, stems removed


In a large pot, melt bacon fat over medium-high heat.  Add onions and saute until lightly browned and soft, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic scapes, salt and pepper to taste, and corn starch and stir to coat the onions.  Slowly add the milk and stock and bring mixture to a gentle boil.

Add spinach leaves and stir well to distribute heat evenly.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 4 minutes or until all the spinach has wilted and shrunk.  Using an immersion blender, chop spinach until it reaches a slightly chunky but uniform consistency (alternatively, you can chop it in a food processor).  Serve hot.

Serving suggestion:  Add 2 cooked chicken sausages, sliced, to the creamed spinach.  Pour over a baked potato. 

Christmas Beans

It's here!  My favorite time of year has finally arrived... CSA season!  For anybody who has never participated in Community Supported Agriculture, let me just give my enthusiastic recommendation - DO IT!!!  Not only does it help you pack more fresh, organic, local produce into your diet but it also really gets the creative juices flowing since you have no say in what kind of vegetables you are getting. 

One of the things we got in abundance this week was spinach.  The thing I love about spinach is that it goes well with so many different things.  You can chop it up and throw it in pasta sauce, minestrone or other soups, pesto, or a pot of beans like these simple and tasty Christmas Beans (y'know... 'cause they're green and red!).  The spinach adds lots of good nutrients and beautiful color to the dish, but is also rather unassuming when incorporated into beans, which makes it perfect for people who think they don't like the stuff (heaven forbid!).

I used the absolutely beautiful Red Mexican Heirloom beans that came with our CSA share, but any 'ol red bean will do.  I never pre-soak my beans because I've never found it necessary (and also because Rick Bayless told me not to and if there's any Cabacho I'm going to trust with my beans, it's him!).  Try these beans over cooked brown rice, or just about any other cooked grain you have on hand, and you've got yourself a protein-rich, wholesome, delicious meal that's also nice and filling.  What's not to love?


Christmas Beans
serves about 6

2 cups dried red beans, rinsed well
12 cups water
2 T olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1 T cumin
dash of cayenne
salt and pepper, to taste
4-5 cups chopped spinach (stems removed and washed well)
sliced green onions

In a large pot, cover dried beans with water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until beans are tender but not mushy - about an hour.  Drain beans, reserving 2 cups of liquid, and set aside.

In another large pot, add olive oil and cook on medium-high.  Add onions and cook until soft and lightly browned, about 7 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, another 30 seconds.  Add beans, reserved bean liquid, and spices and turn the heat up to high.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Just before serving, add chopped spinach and mix well so that the leaves get a chance to gently wilt.  Serve with cooked brown rice, if desired, and top with plenty of sliced green onions.