This recipe makes a LOT of grits. Feel free to reduce to a more appropriate quantity and to experiment with the various Garden Gourmet herb paste flavors. While working on the vegan portion of my cooking blog, I made up a full batch with all the ingredients listed below on a Friday night. All the grits were consumed over the following week in various bowls and entrees as an alternative to rice, pasta, and mashed potatoes.
- 1-1/2 Cups quick cooking grits
- 6 cups water
- 2 Tablespoons Garden Gourmet Lemongrass paste
- 1 Lime, zest and juice
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 1-4 dried Chili de Arbol peppers (dark red, 2-3 inches long, mild-medium heat)
- 1 Tablespoon Garden Gourmet Garlic paste (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Garden Gourmet Ginger paste (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Garden Gourmet Basil paste (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Garden Gourmet Cilantro paste (optional)
Heat everything except grits in a 3-quart saucepan on high heat. Bring to a boil, then remove peppers with a slotted spoon. Slowly pour in grits while stirring to prevent clumping. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking on bottom. Grains will finally visibly thicken after about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into a lightly greased serving container. Serve right away, scooping up big dollops of the hot grits.
These Thai-inspired grits are great with Cashew Chicken and Spinach, Cashew Sprouts and Spinach (for vegans), curry, and other entrees with spoon-licking sauces.
As grits cool, they will gel into a texture like grainy Jell-O but they are easily restored. To reheat, crumble a serving into a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 30 seconds.
6-8 servings
If not serving the grits immediately, refrigerate overnight. Cut and remove a single portion, crumble by hand, and heat in microwave for 30-45 seconds. Once covered by sauce, the consistency is similar to fresh grits. The shape of the portions (squares, triangles, etc.) does not make any difference for crumbling and reheating.
