Nitty Gritty Bake
I have eaten polenta for years, often baked. While I bake that corn meal dish, I never thought about baking grits...only having eaten them in the traditional creamy way one has them for breakfast in the South.
On a recent visit to a local restaurant just outside of historic St. Augustine, I had a baked grits casserole.
I had to try that on my own. The first attempt was a slightly gelatinous mess that tasted OK, but was nothing like what I'd had in the restaurant. So, I tried again, adding more cheese, some mushrooms and an extra egg. The result was delish.
This makes a great breakfast or a side dish for lunch or dinner. Make it as bland or as spicy as you like. Even without the hot sauce and pepper this has a very earthy taste because of the mushrooms. Give it a try.
Nitty Gritty Mushroom Cheese Bake
1/2 cup of finely chopped mushrooms
3 cups of vegetable stock1 cup of uncooked quick grits
1 1/4 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
2 eggs, beaten
2-3 tablespoons of chopped parsley
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat your oven to 350º.
- Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick spray and set it aside.
- In a saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Slowly stir in the grits, lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it's thickened
- Remove the pot from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix in 3/4 cup of the cheese, stirring until it is all melted. Mix in the mushrooms.
- Let the mixture cool for about 5-6 minutes.
- Add the eggs, the parsley and the hot sauce (make it as hot as you like), stirring to combine.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the casserole dish and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until slightly puffy and browned on top.
Vegetarian
