This is a dish I've been craving for a long time without much luck...until this weekend when some nice wild shrimp sparked an idea for using up some of the copious cassava meal sitting in my pantry, in pretty much the best way possible. This dish hits all the right spots and then some...cheesy and rich and easy to boot. Give it a go, you really can't go wrong with fried shrimp. (Batter is optional, you can also saute these if you don't feel like deep frying.)
Ingredients
1 lb of peeled wild shrimp (thawed if frozen, patted dry/drained)
½ tsp ground turmeric (optional, adds the yellow color but maybe a bit too yellow for my liking)
scallions or avocado for garnish
Instructions
Add grits ingredients to a medium-sized pot and whisk until smooth (start with 4 cups of water). Cook over low heat until grits have thickened (if they thicken too much, add more water). Season to taste and leave on low heat while preparing shrimp.
Mix shrimp batter ingredients with whisk (start with ½ c water and then add more - depending on your brand of cassava flour you may need more than indicated here, the batter should have a liquid, pancake-batter-ish consistency).
Heat up cooking oil in small pot over medium heat. Oil is ready when a drop of water spatters.
Drench shrimp in batter and fry a few at a time (I did mine in batches of 4, better not to overcrowd). If you're shallow-frying, make sure to turn the shrimp with a fork once one side has browned.
When shrimp coating has browned and shrimp are white (3-6 min), remove from oil and drain on a rack/paper towel.
Serve shrimp on top of warm grits, garnish with scallions/avocado if you choose and be ready to eat right away cuz these suckers are too good to leave for one second cold and/or neglected. ;)
Recipe by J.S. Hunter Fiction at https://jshunterfiction.com/shrimp-n-grits/