Like many of the recipes in The Gift of Southern Cooking, this recipe is a little bit Scott Peacock and a little bit Edna Lewis. Stirred through the creamy grits, the shrimp paste goes further than a few pretty prawns piled on top ever could, pervading every spoonful with the pure essence of shrimp at its best and most seductive. The shrimp paste also makes a lovely spread for crackers and all-purpose flavor enhancer (just imagine stirring it into risotto, saucing fish, or filling tea sandwiches with it).
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (scott peacock likes small, sweet ones like gulf shrimp, but get whatever is freshest)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup sherry
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups (or more) milk
- 2 cups (or more) water
- 1 cup stone-ground or regular grits
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- kosher salt
Instruction
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 6 tablespoons of the butter until hot and foaming. Add the shrimp, salt, and black pepper and cook over high heat, stirring often, for 4 to 7 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through.
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the shrimp to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment.
- Return the skillet to the stove. Cook the sherry, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper over high heat until the liquid in the skillet is reduced to approximately 3 tablespoons and is quite syrupy. Immediately add the sherry mixture to the shrimp in the food processor. Process until the shrimp are thoroughly puréed.
- With the motor running, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the 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 pepper as needed. Transfer the shrimp paste to a ceramic crock and let cool completely.
