This is an easy recipe and it taste great. Maybe you are like me and cutting back on your meat intake and dairy. Well this recipe is so good you won't miss any flavor or texture. I used plant base sausage and coconut milk to avoid meat and dairy. Plenty of good vegetables including kale! Of course you can substitute with your favorite meat sausage and used heavy cream instead, but why not try it without? I think you will be surprised as to how good this taste. Watch the short video. Grab the ingredients and let's go!
For the grits
Ingredients (on back of box)
4 cups of water
1 cup Albers® Quick Grits
Panko Crumbs
Oil for frying
BRING water and salt to a boil in medium saucepan; slowly stir in grits. Cover; reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes.
POUR grits into 9x5-inch or 8x4-inch loaf pan; refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Remove from pan and cut into 1/2 to 1-inch thick slices.
GREASE large skillet. Fry slices over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
For the Cajun Sausage & Kale
Ingredients
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
1/2 pound of plant based sausage (sliced)
1 - 2 tablespoons cajun/creole spice mix, adjust to your spice/heat level (see recipe for make at home cajun seasoning below) You can buy from the store.
Olive oil
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup of sliced sweet bell peppers
1 cup of sliced mini colored tomatoes ( You can use Roma tomatoes diced if unavailable)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon cajun/creole spice mix
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (1 large or 2 small)
1 cup of kale
¾ cup vegetable broth
¾ cup coconut cream
Instructions
Toss shrimp with salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and coat well. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and drizzle bottom of pan with olive oil.
Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes. Flip shrimp over and cook another minute or two. Drizzle pan with a little more olive oil if needed and add sausage and brown until nicely caramelized, about 4 - 5 minutes. Remove to plate, set aside.
Lower heat to medium and add a bit more olive oil to the pan, add the onion, red bell pepper, Cajun seasoning, brown sugar, and a generous pinch of salt (optional) Depends on the level of salt in your cajun seasoning. Sauté until onion and pepper have softened a bit, scraping up any browned bits that you can. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. (you can omit garlic or add less if not a fan and use shallots)
Add tomatoes, kale and chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan, simmer a couple minutes.
Add sausage and shrimp stir to combine and heat through, 2 - 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon over the fried grits and top with parsley or cilantro.
Cajun Seasoning Recipe
Ingredients
2 teaspoons salt (watching your salt intake add 1teaspoon instead)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 ½ teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 ¼ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ¼ teaspoons dried thyme
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Place in small jar and shake or stir. Store in an airtight container.