Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock met in 1988 when she
was seventy-three and he was twenty-six.
They became best friends and cooking partners, wrote a cookbook together in 2003, and lived together for the last six years of her life.
They became best friends and cooking partners, wrote a cookbook together in 2003, and lived together for the last six years of her life.
The first time Peacock remembers making this dish
was for Lewis’s 75th birthday party, in tiny cocktail party portions, with a
dollop of Lewis’s sherried fresh shrimp paste hovering on top of
his creamy grits. But over the years they cooked together, the recipe evolved.
They realized that the shrimp paste and grits, when stirred together completely
and left to rest for a few minutes, became something even more beguiling. “Just
give them a moment to get to know each other,” Peacock explains. “You don’t want
them to be strangers.”
You might wonder why you’d want to put something as
delicate as shrimp in a food processor. But they whip up into a puree that’s
very good on crackers and as an all-purpose flavor enhancer (just imagine
folding some into risotto, saucing fish, or filling tea sandwiches with it). And
most importantly, stirred through grits, shrimp paste goes further
than a few prawns piled on top ever could, filling every spoonful with buttery,
boozy shrimp at its best and most seductive.
Serves 4 to 6
SHRIMP PASTE
1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, plus
more as needed
1 pound (450g) fresh shrimp,
peeled, tails removed, and deveined (Peacock likes small, sweet ones like Gulf
shrimp, but get whatever is freshest)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
¼ cup (60ml) sherry
2 tablespoons fresh lemon
juice
¼ teaspoon cayenne
pepper
GRITS
2 cups (475ml) water, plus more as
needed
2 cups (475ml) milk, plus more as
needed
1 cup (155g) stone-ground or
regular grits
¼ cup (60ml) heavy
cream
2 tablespoons unsalted
butter
Kosher salt
Chives
(optional)
1 To make the shrimp paste,
heat 6 tablespoons (85g) of the butter in a large skillet until it is hot and
foaming. Add the shrimp, salt, and pepper, and cook over high heat, stirring
often, for 4 to 7 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Remove
the skillet from the stove and use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked shrimp
to the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment.
2 Return the skillet to the stove and add the sherry,
lemon juice, and cayenne. Cook over high heat until the liquid in the skillet is
reduced to approximately 3 tablespoons and is quite syrupy. Immediately add this
to the shrimp in the food processor and process until the shrimp are thoroughly
pureed. With the motor running, add the remaining 10 tablespoons (145g) butter
in pieces and process until thoroughly blended. Turn the food processor off and
carefully taste the paste for seasoning, adding more salt, black pepper, sherry,
lemon juice, or cayenne as needed. Transfer the shrimp paste to a ceramic crock
and allow to cool completely.
3 If not using right away, cover the shrimp paste and
refrigerate for up to 1 week. Refrigerated shrimp paste should be allowed to
return to room temperature before serving. If it is too dry to spread, you may
work in some softened butter and salt to taste until it is spreadable.
4 To make the
grits, heat the water and milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until just
simmering. While the milk and water are heating, put the grits in a large mixing
bowl and cover with cool water. (If you are using regular grits, skip this
step.) Stir the grits assertively so that the chaff floats to the top. Carefully
skim the surface of the grits to remove the chaff. Drain the grits through a
fine strainer, and stir them into the simmering water and milk. Cook, stirring
often, until the grits are tender to the bite and have thickened to the
consistency of thick oatmeal. Regular grits are done in about 20 minutes, but
stone-ground grits require an hour or a little more to cook, and you will have
to add additional milk and water as needed. As the grits thicken, stir them more
often to keep them from sticking and scorching.
5 Stir in the cream and butter and season generously
with salt to taste. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered, until it is time
to serve. If the grits become too thick as they cool, reheat them, stirring in a
little extra boiling water or hot milk to thin.
6 To serve, top the hot grits with a generous dollop of
the shrimp paste. Scott Peacock likes to stir it in thoroughly, then let it rest
for 5 to 10 minutes. For every cup (240ml) of grits, stir in about ¼ cup (60ml)
or more of the shrimp paste, and sprinkle some chopped fresh chives on top, if
you like them. Serve as an appetizer, a supper dish with buttered toast, or a
savory side dish.
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