If you think these ingredients wouldn’t play well together, then you would be wrong.  Not many southern dishes are as delicious as a plate of shrimp and grits. We take it on step further and substitute crawfish for shrimp and chorizo for andouille. I have made this with andouille sausage several times before with good results but for me chorizo seems to work better as it is a bit milder. People who have never tried grits, don’t know what they are and even those that profess to hate them, LOVE this recipe. It is a great breakfast of dinner for grit haters (and lovers) everywhere.

INGREDIENTS:

For the grits

• 2 cups white quick grits
• water (ooohhh)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid crab boil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2/3 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

For the sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz of chorizo, remove from skin and chopped
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup minced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup minced celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb crawfish tail meat, drained (Louisiana preferably)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning (or to taste)
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup grated cotija cheese

PREPARATION:

For the grits

Bring 5 2/3 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the bay leaf, salt, butter and crab boil and boil for about 2 more minutes. Stir in the grits and cheese and lower the heat to low heat and simmer. Cook the grits for about 8 minutes but you really need to just watch them. They are done when they thick but still a bit runny. Remove from heat and keep covered.

For the sauce

Heat the olive oil in an iron skillet over medium heat then add the chorizo and cook for about 4 minutes or until most of the fat is rendered. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the Tony Chachere’s and cook until the veggies are limp or about 8 – 10 minutes. Next stir in the crawfish meat and heat through for about 2 minutes and add the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes or until the cream starts to thicken. Add the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce and season to taste with more Tony’s if necessary.

To serve, ladle the sauce over a portion of the grits and garnish with the green onions and cotija cheese.

Serves 4 – 6

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