Grits a Ya Ya
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
20 mins
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Cook Time
30 mins
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Total Time
50 mins
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Servings
4 servings
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Calories
598 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American
Grits a Ya Ya
Description
This recipe starts by simmering old fashioned grits in vegetable broth until thick and creamy. The addition of evaporated milk, heavy cream, butter, and freshly grated gouda cheese further enriches the grits, creating a smooth, velvety base with a subtle smoky cheese flavor. The grits require constant stirring during cooking to achieve the right consistency, thick but soft.
While the grits cook, the sauce is prepared by lightly sautéing minced onion and garlic, then adding spinach, portobello mushrooms, and green onion. This mixture is gently seasoned with black pepper, hot sauce, and salt, creating a savory complement to the mild grits. The shrimp is cooked separately and seasoned with cayenne pepper, garlic powder, parsley, and salt for a mildly spicy, aromatic contrast.
The final dish assembles grits topped with the rich vegetable sauce and seasoned shrimp, yielding a combination of creamy, cheesy base and flavorful, tender shrimp with fresh greens. This dish works well as a comforting main course with balanced textures and layered flavors.
Use a mix of heavy cream and evaporated milk to achieve a thick, creamy dairy base for the grits and sauce.Chop vegetables finely for even cooking and to distribute flavor through the sauce.Garnish with extra green onions and a pinch of red pepper flakes for added freshness and heat.
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup evaporated milk or regular milk
- 1 cup old fashioned grits
- 4 TBSP butter unsalted
- ¼ lb gouda cheese (freshly grated)
FOR THE SAUCE:
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup evaporated milk
- 2 TBSP butter
- 3 TBSP onion minced
- ½ tbsp garlic minced, approx. 2 cloves
- 1 cup spinach (chopped or torn)
- 1 cup portobello mushroom (chopped or sliced)
- 2 TBSP green onion chopped
- salt to taste
- black pepper
- hot sauce
- oil for sautéing, a drizzle
FOR THE SHRIMP:
- ½ pound Shrimp tail on or off, peeled and deveined
- cayenne pepper
- garlic powder
- parsley
- salt to taste
Instructions
- As a quick note before you start: having everything prepped and ready to toss together ahead of time will save time. You can also multitask by starting the grits first and, while they cook, whip up the sauce and shrimp. This way they'll all be done around the same time so you can plate it all up and dig in!
- First bring vegetable broth to a boil in medium-sized pot.
- At a rolling boil, add in grits and stir constantly [this doubles as an arm workout - score!]
- Reduce heat to lowest setting and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the grits start to soak up the broth, add in the evaporated milk and stir.
- Once their time is just about up, fold in the butter and heavy cream.
- Lastly add the grated gouda and stir thoroughly until smooth and creamy.
- While the grits are simmering away, bring a large non-stick pan to medium heat and saute the white/yellow onion and garlic in a teeny drizzle of your favorite healthy oil, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- Once tender, add in butter, mushrooms, and shrimp and saute until the shrimp are just barely opaque before scooping out the shrimp and setting them aside. This way when you add the shrimp back to the pan they can continue cooking without overcooking. You can also choose to simply saute the shrimp at the very end, if desired!
- After removing the shrimp, add spinach, green onion, milk, and heavy cream and allow it to simmer while you stir to reduce the sauce.
- Once it reaches desired thickness, season with a pinch of salt and pepper and a dash of hot sauce, to taste.
- Pour sauce into a bowl and add a drizzle of oil to your now-empty pan.
- Turn up the heat and finish cooking the shrimp, seasoning it with garlic powder, cayenne, parsley and salt, if desired.
- Ready to eat? Spoon the sauce and shrimp onto heaping mounds of the cheese grits and top with chopped green onion and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Make token "MMMmmMMmm!" sounds as you shove heaping spoonfuls into your face.
Notes
- Garnish with extra chopped green onion and red pepper flakes to enhance freshness and spice.
- Combining heavy cream and evaporated milk creates a thickened dairy base for a creamy texture.
- Regular half and half or full heavy cream may be used based on preference or availability.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 598 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 598kcal | 30% |
| Carbohydrates | 40g | 13% |
| Protein | 22g | 44% |
| Fat | 39g | 60% |
| Saturated Fat | 24g | 120% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 10g | 50% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 192mg | 64% |
| Sodium | 1120mg | 47% |
| Potassium | 424mg | 9% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 7g | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 2366IU | 47% |
| Vitamin C | 4mg | 4% |
| Calcium | 351mg | 35% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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