Everyone Around the Table

I’ve been making the shrimp portion of this dish for my family for years. To my slight surprise, my kids all loved it from an early age. I’ve always served it with rice. But as my kids got older, I switched to serving it with grits. Not cheesey grits (although you certainly could), but we enjoyed them the way I was making them so we just didn’t bother.

Ingredients for the Shrimp:
1 lb. shrimp
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 white onion, chopped
1 TBS dried rosemary
1 TBS dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients for the Grits:
4 cups of water
1 1/2 grits (I like red grits but any kind can be used)
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp salt

Method for the Shrimp:
Pour olive oil in a skillet large enough for the shrimp to be laid in there without overlapping. Heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking.

Add the chopped onion and stir to saute.

Turn the heat down to medium.

As it begins to look translucent, add the garlic, salt and all herbs and stir.

Add the shrimp so they lay evenly. Once the shrimp pan-side-down are opaque, turn them all over.

Once they are cooked through, they are ready to serve.

Method for the Grits:
Place the water, grits, bay leaves and salt in a large pot and bring to boil over high heat.

Once boiling, turn the heat to medium and continue cooking until water is absorbed and the mixture is thickened. Add two pats of butter and stir.

Cover and set aside.

For each serving, spread grits in the bottom of a bowl and top with shrimp. Spoon some of the olive oil with garlic, onions and herbs over the top.