It was pouring elephants and whales yesterday and instead of the planned grilling I went for the southern comfort food, prawns and grits. Or, more specifically, prawns in hot tomato sauce, seasoned with Creole spices on a bed of creamy grits, cooked with milk, chicken stock and lots of goat gouda. For the finishing touch, I topped all of this with a poached egg. After taking several bites, accompanied by the rolling eyes and smacking lips, Ilya finally declared the dish a masterpiece. And it wasn't bad, really.
As with any complex dish, the one that consists of more than one component (not to be confused with ingredient), its success depends on the proper time management. It takes about 25 minutes to cook grits and the prep work involves only cheese grating, which can be done while grits are cooking. Eggs need about 3 minutes and prawns take about 15 including making the sauce.
So, I suggest starting with grits. You’ll have to stir the constantly only at the beginning, when you add them to the cooking liquid. Afterwards, you will need to do it only every now and then. Then proceed with tomato sauce. When the grits are almost done, stir in cheese, place the eggs into simmering water and add the prawns to the sauce. Thus, you’ll have all components done at the same time. As simple as that!
You will need:
For the prawns:
- 2-3 Tbsp oil
- ¼ medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp dry thyme
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- A generous pinch of cayenne or hot red pepper flakes
- About ½ cup tomato puree
- A twig of fresh thyme, leaves only
On a medium high heat, heat oil in a wide pan and add onions. Sauté briefly until translucent and stir in garlic and all the dry spices. Sauté, stirring, for another minute and pour in tomato puree. Add a splash or two of water, cover with a lid and cook on a medium low for about 7-10 minutes. Add the prawns and cook on a medium high heat, stirring often, until they are done, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.
For the grits:
- 2 ⅔ cups half-n-half mix of milk and chicken stock
- 2/3 cup white grits (I ordered mine on Amazon)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 6-7 oz grated goat gouda or other melty cheese to your liking
In a pot, combine chicken stock and milk. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste. Bring the pot to a simmer and add the grits. Stirring constantly, bring them back to a simmer. Cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook the grits, stirring every now and then, until thickened and tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in cheese and remove from the heat.
For poached eggs:
- 1 egg per serving (follow the recipe here)
Divide the grits between the serving bowls. Top with the prawns and some tomato sauce. Put the poached egg on top of each serving and garnish with fresh thyme leaves.
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