I am totally on the Cauliflower Rice train. The person who thought of this deserves a major cooking award. This is up there with Zoodles for sure. So from what I have seen everyone has beaten the cauliflower rice idea almost to death. Until now!! How about GRITS made from Cauliflower Rice? Is this a great idea or what? Same butter and cream, I mean because since you are using cauliflower you deserve a bit of luxury in the calorie department. Same sharp cheddar cheese. Ditto for the reasoning/justification for that. Cauliflower is one of those healthy cruciferous vegetables so put one in the healthy/clean eating column.
Now to be absolutely honest, I couldn’t divorce/separate/extricate myself from white cornmeal entirely. I mean grits are grits and you have to have a little bit of cornmeal to give them their smooth and –dare I say–pasty/hefty quality. So here is where I went with this. I made grits but instead of using a lot of liquid in which they could float and cook, I accounted for the moisture that the Cauliflower Rice would create when added to the grits mixture by creating a greater grits to liquid ratio before adding the cauliflower and corn. That way the final dish would have just the right fluffy consistency without getting watery from the cauliflower.
So the grits are really really really thick. I mean like cement thick. But just stick with me here. You stir and you stir and you stir your pasty grits and chicken stock (or vegetable stock) until the mixture is cooked, about 15 minutes. No quick grits here. Then you fold in your Cauliflower Rice and the kernels from four ears of fresh corn. You had better have been doing those upper arm exercises because you are going to get a bit of a workout.
After the grits, cauliflower and corn cook for about 10 more minutes you will see that the vegetables never get mushy but they take on a really great texture and are indistinguishable from the cornmeal grits. To the now cooked grits you add some heavy cream, butter and sharp cheddar and another addition of heavy cream. These may be the best grits you have ever eaten and since more than half of them are made of cauliflower, consider them totally guilt free.
The barbecued shrimp are simple as can be. Lightly oiled and seasoned with barbecue seasoning, five minutes on a hot grill and a bath of a delicious bourbon barbecue sauce is all they need.
I don’t know what got into me today. I just started cooking and I invented this crazy, cheesy grits thing that I am probably going to eat every day for a week. You try it. You can’t believe how good it is. Especially with the bourbon shrimp if you drink a bit along the way. Kidding. I really am. Don’t leave the bourbon bottle out on the counter while cooking because it gets confusing for everyone.
Cauliflower Rice and Fresh Corn Cheesy “Grits” with Bourbon Barbecued Shrimp
This recipe is totally amazing. How could cauliflower rice become creamy cheesy grits? Well you are about to find out.
Ingredients
For the Shrimp and Barbecue Sauce:
- 1 pound thawed, peeled and deveined shrimp dried well and put on skewers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon each chili powder, ground coriander, sugar and salt
- ½ cup barbecue sauce such as Sweet Baby Ray’s
- 1 ½ tablespoons bourbon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon butter
For the Cauliflower Rice and Fresh Corn “Grits”
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
- 4 cups Progresso chicken stock or other high quality brand or substitute vegetable stock, divided
- 1 ½ cups white cornmeal
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 head cauliflower florets processed in the food processor, about 5 cups
- 4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed
- 1 cup heavy cream, divided
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
Instructions
For the Shrimp and Barbecue Sauce:
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Coat the shrimp with the olive oil.
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In a small dish, combine the seasonings and sprinkle over the shrimp.
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Refrigerate while you make the “Grits”.
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In a medium size heatproof bowl, microwave the barbecue sauce, bourbon and honey for one minute. Stir in the butter until melted and set aside.
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Preheat the grill on a high heat for the shrimp after you add the cauliflower rice to the grits mixture (see below).
For the Cauliflower Rice and Fresh Corn Cheesy “Grits”
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In a large and very heavy saucepan (like Calphalon) over medium heat, heat the olive oil and quickly sauté the garlic. Do not let it brown.
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Add 3 cups of the chicken stock, raise the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
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Lower the heat to medium.
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Combine the remaining one cup of stock with the white cornmeal and salt and mix into a smooth slurry.
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Add the cornmeal all at once to the stock and whisk until it is well combined. Lower the heat to the lowest setting and cover the pot. You will have to stir the mixture every 5 minutes and watch it so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
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After 15 minutes add the cauliflower in batches and stir until it is well combined with the cornmeal. The mixture will be very stiff but just keep stirring.
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Cook the mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the cauliflower starts to soften, about 10 minutes.
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Add the corn to the cauliflower and grits mixture all at once and stir until combined. Keep stirring for another 5-8 minutes until the corn is cooked but not mushy.
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Put the shrimp on the grill.
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Stir ½ cup of the cream into the cauliflower grits mixture. Add the butter and cheese and turn the shrimp over to finish cooking them. They will take no longer than 5 minutes to cook both sides.
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Heat the barbecue sauce in the microwave for one minute.
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Remove the shrimp from the skewers and put in the bowl with the barbecue sauce. Mix well and set aside.
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Turn the saucepan to a low heat and add the last ½ cup cream to the cauliflower grits mixture along with the cheese, stirring constantly. When the cheese is melted the cauliflower grits are done.
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Put a large spoonful of cauliflower grits on a plate, arrange a few shrimp with barbecue sauce in the middle and garnish with a sprinkling of cilantro.