A family favourite by Katrin Veski
Even though I had previously neglected to write down this recipe… something drew me to a jar of salsa verde. I honestly didn’t remember why!
Though it’s more of a tomatillo sauce, I used “Sensations,” a store brand sold in Sobeys, Foodland, and FreshCo in Canada. If that particular kind is not available, a similar one would do. Another variation this time was using grits (cornmeal), instead of a base of fluffy mashed potatoes.
Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 Knorr vegetable bouillon cube (chicken would be fine!)
1 cup medium cornmeal (Bob’s Red Mill was available)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbs butter
1 lb frozen large zipper-back shrimp (Other shrimp would do, but more cleaning would be involved.)
2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbs butter
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, optional (If eating late at night, unless you like vivid dreams, many of which could be nightmares, perhaps leave those for another day.)
squeeze of fresh lemon, to taste
salt & pepper to taste
3/4 – 1 cup salsa verde
Preparation method:
Combine the water and milk and bring to a boil in a large pot (2 1/2 – 3 litre is best). Add the vegetable cube and stir until dissolved. After lowering the heat to medium-low, pour the cornmeal into the pot, slowly, whisking all the while. (I actually didn’t do this… but had to deal with it later.)
Add cheddar cheese and stir, then add butter and stir. If the mixture seems grainy and clumpy, with your immersion blender, blend until it’s fluffy and appealing to the palate. Set it aside, covered.
Clean the shrimp. (Even the zipperback are not just ready to go. Tails and shells are on, as well as some black tracts.) Doing this under running cold water is a good idea.
Heat olive oil and butter in a sauté or other pan on medium-low heat. Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes and stir gently for thirty seconds or so.
Add the shrimp, sauté for two – three minutes, flip, (a C-shape to the shrimps’ curve is good, an O-shape is overcooked.). Add a squeeze of fresh lemon, salt, and pepper. Pour salsa verde (tomatillo) sauce over the mix.
Heat for two – three minutes or so.
Spoon the cheesy grits onto a plate. Add shrimp with tomatillo sauce.
