Ever wonder what the difference is between polenta and grits?
In today’s grocery store, these terms are practically interchangeable. The raw ingredient, stone-ground cornmeal, is the same for both dishes. Traditionally, the coarseness of the grain and how it was milled was different, resulting in grits being on the mushier side while polenta retained more of a coarse texture.
While I’m sure purists from both the Italian polenta and Southern grits side would argue vast differences, in your home kitchen, feel free to mix the two up.
I’ve shared a few polenta dishes here in the past, including a mushroom and caramelized onion version, a parsley pesto with a poached egg version, and a roasted root vegetable one. This time, we’re calling it grits, regardless of the fact that I didn’t change too much in the preparation. Shrimp and grits are, of course, classically Southern, and I didn’t want to stray too far from tradition.
This version of shrimp and grits takes advantage of some summertime produce, including corn and leeks. It’s buttery, creamy, and just slightly spicy.
I made the mistake of buying quick-cooking cornmeal because it was the only thing that was available at the grocery store I stopped in, but the recipe below is for the good stuff. It’s worth it to let the cornmeal take it’s time developing into a nice creamy base. Trust me.
- 1½ cup heavy cream
- 3-4 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cup coarsely ground cornmeal
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 leeks, chopped
- 1 ear of corn, cooked and cut off the cob
- 1 lb shrimp
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon dry white wine
- salt and pepper to taste
- In a heavy bottom pot, bring cream, 3 cups water, and salt to boil. Add cornmeal and whisk together. Reduce heat and let thicken, about 20 minutes, whisking frequently. Add additional water if needed to get the right consistency.
- In the meantime, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet until just starting to brown. Add garlic, leeks, and corn and cook until corn is slightly blistered. Transfer to a bowl.
- In the same skillet, melt remaining two tablespoons butter. Once slightly browned, add shrimp and cayenne pepper. Once shrimp is slightly pink, stir in white wine. Cook until shrimp is done, transfer to bowl with vegetables. If there is remaining liquid in pan, pour into grits (the shrimp and wine flavor makes the grits even tastier).
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve shrimp and vegetables on top of grits.
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