Small Town: Shrimp and Sweet Potato Grits

Earlier this week one of my readers commented that I ate pretty healthy for a college student. That’s because all I do in college is study and eat! If I was a “normal” college student then I probably would be eating pizza and ramen noodles like the rest of them. Luckily, when I was 12 out of boredom I learned how to cook. And with the frugal shopping habits I inherited from my mother and father, I can eat pretty well on a tight budget.

With that said, I love coming home to a full kitchen and a stocked fridge! I definitely get spoiled with my options. So with a rare day to myself, and leftover fresh sage, I decided to get a little creative. My mother always has frozen shrimp and after googling lots of recipes for sage shrimp and shrimp cornbread stuffing I thought this might work.

“Fancy” corn grits seems all the rage these days and with a bag of corn grits/polenta mix in my mom’s pantry, I thought I’d give it a try.

I didn’t feel like grilling the shrimp so I baked them in the oven instead. It was delicious with sautéed sweet potatoes over the grits. Aaron has bad memories of grits so he tried the shrimp and sweet potatoes without them.

The combination of the shrimp and sweet potatoes was so good that it could be served on top grits, with crusty French bread or on a green salad.

As always, this might seem like a strange combination but it is healthy and incredibly delicious. Add a little Southern flare to mix up the hearty dishes of the Holiday season! This is a great dish to impress company with your creativity!

Shrimp and Sweet Potato Grits: 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

2/3 cup corn grits

2 cups water

10-12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

10-15 sage leaves

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin slices

2 pieces of pancetta

Dry white wine

2 garlic cloves, minced

Olive oil

Small tab of butter

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a frying pan heat a small amount of butter and 1 minced garlic clove.

Once heated, add sliced sweet potatoes to the pan and lightly sautéed.

Once sweet potatoes begin to brown, add enough white wine to cover them and simmer over low heat. Stir frequently, and add 5 sage leaves, chopped and salt and pepper to taste. Once liquid is completely absorbed, take off heat.

Meanwhile rub shrimp with a couple fresh sage leaves, cut pancetta into enough equal pieces to shrimp. Wrap one sliver of pancetta on each shrimp, placing shrimp on a cookie sheet.

In a small bowl, mix olive oil, salt, pepper, and remaining garlic. Drizzle mixture over shrimp and sprinkle with chopped sage.

Place shrimp in oven for 4-5 minutes or until shrimp is pink.

While shrimp is cooking, in a pot, bring 2 cups water to a boil with a sprinkle of salt. Once boiling, add grits and stir for 5 minutes or until grits are soft.

Take grits off heat, scoop into bowls, and serve equal amounts of sweet potatoes and cooked shrimp on top!

Enjoy this unique and tasty take on Shrimp and Grits!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

P.s. Today (December 23, 2011, is your last chance to enter my giveaway of a Le Creuset Gratin dish! Don’t forget to like the “Cuisiner” on Facebook! Thanks! I’ll announce to winner tomorrow!