Sweet, nutty, and colorful, blue corn grits make this dish a showstopper. If you don’t have any on hand, your favorite variety of corn grits will work.
Shrimp Succotash and Blue Corn Grits
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh or frozen baby lima beans
- 4 slices center-cut bacon
- 2 pounds large fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1 cup fresh okra, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 4 ears corn)
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- Blue Corn Grits (recipe follows)
- Garnish: fresh basil
Blue Corn Grits
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup blue corn grits*
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring lima beans and water to cover to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until beans are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain.
- In a large cast-iron skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove bacon, and let drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in skillet. Let bacon cool; crumble, and set aside.
- Add shrimp to skillet; cook until pink and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from pan.
- Add onion, okra, and garlic to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is just tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in lima beans, corn, salt, and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until corn is tender and bright yellow, 5 to 6 minutes. Add butter; cook, stirring constantly, until butter is melted, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in shrimp, tomatoes, and basil. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Serve immediately with Blue Corn Grits. Garnish with basil, if desired.
Blue Corn Grits
- In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water, broth, butter, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in grits.
- Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Cover and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in cheese and pepper until cheese is melted. Serve hot.
Notes
*We used McEwen & Sons Stone Ground Organic Blue Grits
