Bookworms, can I get a Hallelujah!

Back in 2020, this story took over my lockdown life. The heat, the drawl, the mystery, and, of course, the food.

North Carolina’s mostly known for its barbecue, but Kya repeatedly mentioned a dish that really piqued my taste buds, Southern Shrimp ‘n’ Grits. This version’s the hug-in-a-bowl you’ll need when you reach the end, because I had chills

“Shrimp & Grits” with Toasted Corn, Chilli Butter and Collard Greens

Ingredients [Serves 2]

100ml milk
150g quick cook polenta
1 red chilli
195g tin of sweetcorn
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground nutmeg
20g butter
30g Parmesan
150g King prawns
1 lime
1 head spring greens
2 garlic cloves
2 spring onions

You’ll also need water, vegetable oil, salt and pepper.

Method

Step 1.
Add the 600ml of water and the milk to a large cast iron skillet with some salt and bring to a simmer. Pour in the polenta and whisk until smooth and just starting to thicken then take it off the heat.

Step 2.
Drain the sweetcorn in a sieve and finely slice the red chilli. Melt half butter in a small frying pan and add the corn and sliced chilli. Fry for 5 minutes until the corn is golden and the chilli is soft. Set the corn and chilli butter aside for pouring over the polenta later.

Step 3.
Finely slice the garlic and spring onions. In another frying pan add a dash of vegetable oil over a medium heat, add the sliced garlic and half of the spring onions. Then add the prawns, salt, smoked paprika and ground nutmeg. Fry for 3-4 minutes until cooked through.

Step 4.
Pull the leaves away from the core of the greens. Heat a little vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Add the whole leaves and fry for 5 minutes until starting to catch and turn dark green. Squeeze over the juice of half a lime, cook for another minute then tip into a bowl ready to serve.

Step 5.
Add a dash more boiling water to the polenta and whisk in the remaining butter and grate in half of the parmesan. Spoon over the buttery fried corn and chilli, and the prawns with the garlic, spring onion and any juices from the pan.

Step 6. Garnish with the remaining spring onions, lime zest and lime wedges to squeeze. Grate the rest of the parmesan over the greens and serve them in a bowl to the side.

(Served here with peach iced tea)

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