Shrimp & Grits with Mustard Seed Chowchow

Charleston, South Carolina is a very special place for me. As a tribute, I make a lot of Southern food. 🙂 I also make shrimp and grits as part of our traditional Easter celebration.

We were lucky enough to travel back to Charleston recently and we brought home a couple of different types of grits. The fresh from South Carolina grits really made this dish extra special. I also baked the grits for the first time and the results were amazing. I used a blend of stone ground white and yellow grits for this dish, but, I also have special pink “unicorn grits” from Millers All Day which I’ll be sure to share with you in another dish.

This dish is from a Food and Wine “staff-favorite” recipe, contributed by Isaac Toups of Toups South in New Orleans. It was absolutely incredible. (We need to go to his restaurant!)  It may be quite difficult to try a new version next year. I served it with roasted asparagus. Lovely.

Yield: Serves 4

• 1 pound peeled and deveined tail-on raw large shrimp
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s)(I used Slap ya Mama)
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (4 ounces), divided
• 1 cup uncooked freshly ground grits (such as Bellegarde Heirloom Grits)(I used stone ground yellow & white grits)
• 3 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds
• 1 medium-size (8-ounce) green tomato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I substituted a red tomato and it was still delicious!)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 diagonally sliced scallions (about 1/4 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 200°F, preferably on convection.
2. Toss together shrimp and Cajun seasoning in a medium bowl. Cover; refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Place milk and 1/4 cup butter in a medium ovenproof saucepan. Bring to a vigorous simmer over medium, stirring occasionally.
4. Gradually add grits, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens slightly and grits are evenly suspended in milk, about 6 minutes.
5. Cover saucepan; transfer to preheated oven. Bake until grits are tender, 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove from oven; stir in 2 teaspoons salt and remaining 1/4 cup butter. Cover to keep warm until ready to use. (I put the pot in a warming oven.)
6. While the grits are in the oven, stir together vinegar, 3/4 cup water, sugar, and remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons salt in a saucepan; bring to a boil over high.
7. Stir in mustard seeds. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until seeds are tender, about 35 minutes.
8. Add tomato and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and mixture has thickened, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove from heat.
9. Remove shrimp from refrigerator. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high until smoking.
10. Add shrimp to skillet in a single layer; cook until opaque and lightly charred, about 1 minute and 30 seconds per side.
11. To serve, divide grits among 4 bowls. Top evenly with shrimp and chowchow; sprinkle with sliced scallion.

Note: The chowchow can be made up to a week in advance.