This recipe has such a twist to it, I'm so thrilled to share this with you! Here's a nutritious version of my favorite Southern comfort food! Shrimp & Grits for the win! Eoooow! This Sunday we're making grits made with a super grain instead of corn. Why instead of corn? While corn has nutritional benefits, it's high in starch, can spike blood sugar and may prevent weight loss when consumed in excess. I'll be making this dish vegan for myself. You can substitute my vegan prawns for shrimp and vegan cheddar cheese for real cheddar cheese.
I'm Ready to Jump In...
Vegan Prawns & Chessy Quinoa Grits
Ingredients for cheesy grits
1/2 cup quinoa, 1/2 cup armaranth rinsed ( if you don't have amaranth use 1 cup quinoa)
1 cup water
1 cup veggie broth
14 ounces unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon coconut oil (i used olive oil)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (if using real cheddar you won't need nutritional yeast)
8 ounces shredded vegan cheddar cheese or real cheddar cheese
Did You Know?
Facts: Quinoa is packed with so many nutrients because it's actually a seed. It's also gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contain sufficient amounts of all nine essential amino acids.
Ingredients For Shrimp and Sauce
1/2 pound of vegan prawns or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup of diced bell pepper
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of onion
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of tomato paste (i used tomato sauce)
1/2 cup of white wine (i used Pinot Grigio)
1/2 cup of veggie broth
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk or (heavy cream)
2 tablespoons of starch to thicken (i used almond flour)
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning)
1/4 teaspoon of ground fennel seed
Chopped parsley, to garnish
Instructions
Set a medium pot over medium heat. Add the water, veggie broth, half the coconut milk, quinoa, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Then turn temperature down and simmer for 15-20 minutes until most of liquid is absorbed.
Stir in the rest of the coconut milk, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, and shredded vegan cheese. Simmer covered for 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Rest for 5 minutes before serving
while grits is simmering, heat a skillet. Then, add in the olive oil along with the bell pepper, garlic, onions and bacon (bacon is optional. Saute until the bacon has cooked through. Pour off any excess oil). Then, add in the tomato paste, starch Hennessy or (white wine), and veggie broth. Cook together for about 2-3 minutes then add in the almond milk. Allow the mixture to cook over high heat until the cream reduces and thickens. Then, reduce the heat and season with salt, pepper, Herbs de Provence, and fennel. Toss in the prawns or (shrimp) and let the shrimp cook through. When the shrimp are just about cooked through, turn off the heat.
To serve, pour the sauce and shrimp over the grits and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Hope you enjoyed this dish as much as I did! Thank you for visiting today see you next time.
Just feed me and tell me I'm pretty baby!
Blessings and Love
Portia.