Recipe: Shrimp and Faux Grits

Listen ya’ll. I was skeptical of this one. shrimpandgrits holds a very special place in my heart. Start messing around with substitutions and alterations and I’m bound to have my reservations…. but this was damn good! I did add a few things, though. Instead of relying solely on spices, I sautéed up an onion, some garlic, a red bell pepper and a jalapeño before adding the shrimp and sausage. Because. vegetables… but I was floored by how the faux grits turned out. Who knew cauliflower was such a sleeper ingredient. Consistency was creamy but not mushy. Flavor was subtle. All-in-all a winning recipe!

The recipe originally called for ghee which is fine if you are goin dairyfree or paleo but if you aren’t. Use the butter. Always use the butter.

Ingredients:

Shrimp & Sausage with gravy

1 package beef Smoked Sausage
1 lb frozen or fresh shrimp, thawed
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp water
1 tsp arrowroot powder

Garlic Cauliflower Mash

1 large head cauliflower, cut into pieces
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1.5 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp butter

Directions:

  1. Place cauliflower pieces in a large pot and fill to cover them halfway with water.
  2. Bring to a boil and cook 10-15 minutes, until very tender.
  3. Meanwhile, cut the link into 1/4 inch slices.
  4. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
  5. Once hot, add sausage pieces and thawed shrimp and cook for about 5 minutes.
  6. Flip the pieces and cook for another 2 minutes.
  7. Add spices and continue to stir.
  8. Add chicken broth and use spoon to scrape up any brown bits.
  9. Cook and let the chicken broth reduce by about half.
  10. Combine the arrowroot powder & water in a small dish, and stir the mixture into the sausage/chicken broth.
  11. Turn heat to low and add more chicken broth if you need to thin it out at all (or you can add more arrowroot/water mixture if it needs to be thickened).
  12. Once the cauliflower is done, drain all of the water out and return to pan.
  13. Add ghee, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chicken broth and mash together.
  14. Serve the shrimp/sausage and sauce over top the mashed cauliflower.

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