Spicy Shrimp with Tomatoes and Cheddar Grits

Ingredients:

For the shrimp:
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper (or other pepper—see Kitchen Notes), finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
3/4 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon Creole/Cajun spice (see Kitchen Notes)
2 to 3 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

For the grits:
3 cups water
a generous 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup grits
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp)

Instructions:

Serves 3.

A quick note: Time the cooking of the grits and the shrimp so they’re both done at the same time, based on the kind of grits you use.

Cook the shrimp. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium flame. Add bell pepper, onion, jalapeño pepper and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Be careful not to brown or burn the garlic. Add Creole/Cajun spice and shrimp, stirring to combine, and cook for 2 minutes, turning the shrimp halfway through. At this point, the skillet will seem alarmingly dry. Don’t worry. Add the tomatoes and cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring frequently. The tomatoes will release their juices use them to scrape up any browned bits and incorporate them into the dish.

Meanwhile, cook the grits. Bring the water to a rapid boil in a medium saucepan. Add the salt and then slowly stir in the grits. Return to a boil and then reduce heat to low so the grits just simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until grits are smooth and thickened—30 to 45 minutes for old-fashioned grits, 5 to 7 minutes for quick grits. Don’t go crazy on the thickening—like polenta, they will continue to thicken as they cool. Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar until it completely melts into the grits.

Assemble the dish. Spoon grits into individual shallow bowls. Top with vegetables and shrimp and serve.

From blue-kithcen.com